From The Ashes
by Tobi Tortue
Summary: 1200 years after the end of Britannia's Golden Age, history and archeology student Phoenix Zero studies abroad in Eastern America, exploring the long-lost Royal Britannian Cemetery. What he uncovers is only the beginning of the adventure.
1. Chapter One

_Author's Note: As the summary suggests, this story is not your usual fanfiction. I suppose this story could be classified as a hybrid of anime-based fanfiction and historical fiction. At any rate, please read, enjoy, and review. Thank you!_  


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**From the Ashes**

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**Galileo, Alba Patera, Mars. Maius 22****th****, 1529 A.W.E. (After War Era)***

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"Alright everyone, please buckle up and _stay in your seats_ as the crew makes the final preparations before takeoff." Professor Pailey's voice echoed throughout the interplanetary vessel, his deep tones overpowering the voices of the other students. Phoenix would recognize his adviser's commanding voice anywhere.

He smiled in anticipation. It was his first time leaving Mars, and he was looking forward to the month-long journey almost as much as he was to their arrival on Earth.

"Be sure to turn off all pocket devices," came Pailey's voice again. Like every other student on board, Phoenix rummaged in his pocket before pulling out his PD. He checked for a last text from Lia, his older sister, and found that he had a video message from his parents' home number.

The screen flared to life when he opened the message, and he saw his entire family huddled around the home bay station. "Good luck, sweetie!" his mom called encouragingly.

"Have a safe flight, and call us when you get there." Phoenix's dad said mildly. He was always practical. He never looked concerned, and today was no exception.

Lia bobbed to the center of the screen. "Hey, take lots of pictures, right? And you'll log, right? I'll show you how to fit the pictures to the log when you get back. And I'm sure you'll get accepted into the honors program after your study abroad."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. As if he didn't know how to fit pictures to his log. He cringed a little, though, thinking of the presentation to the History Honor Board when he returned in the fall. That was one thing he was _not_ looking forward to.

"Well, have a good time, and learn a lot," said his mother, smiling sweetly.

"Do something off-the-wall, Phoenix. Those Honors profs like people who stand out. Do something unexpected! Something daring! Something crazy," Lia called, laughing and ignoring their mother's slight gasp and protesting face. Lia reached forward and the message faded to black. A second later, the PD returned to the desktop screen.

Phoenix smiled, and tapped the touch-screen to power down the PD before placing it back in his jacket pocket. Well, he certainly hoped he could get a little adventure from his study abroad. After this summer, he was probably going back to living in the history department's library, so he figured he had best throw his all into this trip.

A moment later, another voice resounded across the seating deck. "Good afternoon, Galileo U students," she said warmly, her accent crisp and distinctly North Martian. "This is your Captain, Aria Formose speaking. Welcome aboard the _U.M.S. Marterra_. In a few moments, we'll be lifting off, so I hope you have all done as your supervising professors have asked and are all buckled in safely. For those of you who have never left the planet, we'll experience some strong gravitational forces as we leave the atmosphere, then a floating sensation until we put our mock-gravity system online. The entire process should take less than ten minutes. Our flight attendants will be available during takeoff, but because of the gravitational shifts, please only ask for assistance if absolutely necessary. I'll be giving you further instructions once we've entered stable interplanetary flight."

Phoenix looked around at the students next to him, wondering if anyone he recognized had signed up for the Earth Exploration Summer Program. He knew that none of his close friends had been able to take the time off of work or other schooling programs to study so far abroad, but he wondered if some of his more distant acquaintances had signed up. He had heard a rumor that his old high school buddy, Rayne, was doing the Earth Studies _Wild Nature!_ Program, but had not had a chance to get in touch with him before the flight. He hoped he would see him aboard, and therefore would have someone to talk to during the next month.

A sudden, deep rumbling reverberated throughout the hull of the _Marterra_, and the chatter of the students died down in anticipation. Across the aisle, a flight attendant buckled himself in, and leaned back into his seat. He kept one eye open to watch the mass of university students, but closed the other as if he could sleep that way.

Suddenly, the engines roared, and the _Marterra_ shook, trembling slightly as it rolled across the airfield. Phoenix could see the space catapult as they wheeled around to line up with it properly and wait for the shuttle currently loaded to launch. The launching pad began sinking into the ground at a near vertical angle as the guiding arms extended towards the sky. The red and white lights on the tips of the towering arms suddenly flashed green, and the launching platform came rushing out of the ground, carrying the shuttle as it spewed smoke and thruster fire onto the platform. The platform halted as it reached the end of the guiding arms, and the shuttle continued its flight up into the atmosphere and beyond.

Phoenix shook his head, wondering what the world would be like without space catapults. Probably a lot like the world the long-dead Britannian Empire reigned over. Probably a lot like the world he was going to dig up when he got to Earth.

"Flight attendants, please prepare for takeoff," said the captain smoothly.

The _Marterra_ rolled out and settled onto the launching platform once it had returned to ground level. After a moment, the light from the surface was blocked out by the ground as the platform lowered into the Martian rock. Phoenix gripped the armrest tightly, wondering how strong the gravitational forces would be, and suddenly a hand latched onto the armrest on top of his.

He looked over in surprise as the girl gave him a threatening look that clearly told him to keep quiet. "Your hand was just in the way, don't get any ideas," she said quietly. She leaned her red-haired head back against her headrest as the platform shifted, the angle in the back dropping so the _Marterra_ had an appropriate flight angle.

The engines roared louder and the entire ship rattled, and suddenly the platform was moving them up, out of the ground, towards the sky, and the long arms were whizzing past them, the noise from the engines growing to a thunder. The green lights from the tips of the arms zipped past them, and there was nothing but the bluish-green sky with the white tops of Galileo's skyscrapers far below, surrounded by patches of green farms and brick red dirt.

_Goodbye for now, Mars,_ Phoenix thought with a giddy feeling, even as the gravitational pressure pushed him backwards into his seat. He could feel the vinyl-covered foam of the headrest compressing behind his skull, and his elbows sliding back to press against the seat. It was becoming difficult to even draw a deep breath because his lungs had to expand in opposition to the force.

"Wow, this is intense," said the girl next to him. She gulped in a huge breath of air, and smirked steadily, facing forward.

The sky outside the shuttle was turning darker, losing the natural green tinge and becoming bluer. The air seemed to shimmer from the heat around the vessel as it rocketed out of the atmosphere, and then the air abruptly faded into a deep black, dotted with pinpricks of starry light. The shuttle continued speeding away from the red planet, the gravitational pull lessening, as a cheer rose up from some of the students who were excited to finally be in space.

"Ah-ah, stay seated," the flight attendant near Phoenix cautioned a boy in front of him. Phoenix heard the click of a seatbelt being reattached, and rolled his eyes.

"We've now cleared the Martian gravity well." The captain explained. "Please stay in your seats until we have our mock-gravity system online. I'll let you know when it's safe to move about and when you can retrieve your luggage and go to your cabins." There was a short pause until her next announcement. "Flight attendants, please ready gravity systems."

Phoenix watched as the flight attendant next to them unbuckled himself and drifted quickly down the aisle, around a corner, and out of sight.

"So…" began the girl next to him, giving him a slight smile. "I'm Rachel. Nice to meet you." She removed her hand from his, and then held it out to him.

Phoenix shook it quickly, noticing how weird it felt in the nearly nonexistent gravity. "Phoenix. What program are you doing?"

She laughed a little. "Uh, I don't remember what it's called, exactly… I'm doing it just because I want to get to Earth for the summer, but it's some kind of archeology," she explained, looking less than thrilled about the idea of digging things out of the ground.

Phoenix let his expression fall flat. Why did everyone in the world have to think that history was boring? "I'm doing that one, too. It's called Uncovering Britannia's Remains." Somehow the whole experience felt a little cheaper after hearing how even his programmates lacked all enthusiasm for the topic. He had hoped that this trip would be full of people who liked old things as much as he did….

Rachel looked away for a moment, and then returned with a weak smile. "Oh… right," she said, seeming to comprehend his disappointment in her attitude. She sighed and then relaxed. "Well, hey, we can hang out together, right? It'll be fun. I've never seen ruins and stuff."

Phoenix smiled. "It's cooler than just ruins, you know." He leaned in a little bit. "We're working in an old cemetery. There'll be tombs and stuff." Rachel seemed to like this idea. "And yeah, I'm sure we can hang out together. You're the only person I know who's also in this program."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll be sure to introduce you to my friend who's also doing it… she's sitting on the other side of the flight deck or something, though. She's really awesome." Rachel pointed vaguely to the front of the rows of students, and then suddenly her arm dropped as gravity returned to the environment. "Whoa, that was a little sudden," she said, laughing.

"This is your Captain once again," came the familiar voice over the intercom as both Rachel and Phoenix looked upwards towards the speakers. "You are all free to move about the passenger areas of the ship. Your luggage may be picked up at the entry hall to your assigned cabin decks. I've been informed that you are to go to your supervising professor for your cabin assignments. You may turn on your PDs and make sure you are on Standard Time. There will be a flight briefing at 5:00, and all passengers are required to attend.

Have a comfortable flight, and don't hesitate to ask the flight attendants for any help at any time."

As soon as her last word faded, the clattering of buckles coming undone echoed throughout the flight deck. Phoenix stood and dodged the arms of a stretching student behind him. He looked over at Rachel. "I bet we're in the same cabin deck, because we're in the same program and all. Let's find Professor Pailey," he said, starting to inch his way down the suddenly crowded aisle.

"Wild Nature students, this way!" A voice called out from a corner, and over the tops of the seats and students' heads, Phoenix saw a hand rise in the air and wave about from where the voice had come from.

After a moment, Phoenix heard the familiar shout of Professor Pailey from the end of the aisle. "If you're not here for the history-archeology program, move away!" The boy grinned back at Rachel, who was following right behind him with one eyebrow raised.

"Don't worry, he's a really nice guy, and really smart," he assured her. Since Professor Pailey spent most of his time in his office, in the History Department's library, or out on field expeditions, those outside the History Department rarely saw him. Phoenix, on the other hand, lurked in the same places as the professor, and often found himself in the same room by accident. Rachel didn't really look as if she believed that Pailey was a man to be admired, but shrugged as they pushed their way through the crowd of students.

"Hi Professor," Phoenix chirped as he stepped up in front of the man. "Room assignments?"

Pailey looked down from over his large frame and graying mustache. "Oh, Zero, right." The man scrolled through his PD while Rachel nudged Phoenix with an elbow.

"Zero?" she whispered, raising an eyebrow.

"It's my last name, not an insult," he whispered back. Though in elementary school, there had been no distinction.

"Cabin 28," Pailey said, giving his attention to another student.

"Oh, Rachel needs hers too," Phoenix said, nodding and repeating the number 28 in his head so he wouldn't forget where he was supposed to go.

Pailey glanced at Rachel. "Last name?"

"Rivera," she said firmly.

"Twenty-six," Pailey said, and then shouted over their heads. "Britannia's Remains! Over here!"

Phoenix and Rachel winced at the bellow, and moved away towards the large map of the _Marterra_ that was affixed to the wall by the hallway. They found their cabins on the map and then squished past students as they went down the hallways.

"I hope it's not always this crowded," Phoenix complained as he was nudged by a larger student's elbow.

"Yeah, no kidding." Rachel sighed. "Then again, this is the only summer shuttle for G.U. and _everyone_ is packed on here."

They reached a circular room with cabins 20 through 29 lined up along the stretch of wall. In the middle was a pile of luggage with a few students tugging at what was presumably their own gear.

"I hope yours isn't the flamingo pink suitcase," Phoenix teased as he reached for the suitcase that contained all his clothing. It was a modest black.

"No, but actually, I know who it belongs to," Rachel said, laughing. She picked out a red bag, and looked around. "I guess she's not here yet." She shrugged, then looked around at the circle of doors. "I wonder what the cabins are like."

"They're probably going to get very old after a month. I've heard they're smaller than the dorms," he said, slinging his backpack over a shoulder and lifting his duffel bag. He lugged all three of his bags to the door marked with a brass 28, and pressed his thumb against the keypad on the door, unlocking it and causing the door to slide into the wall.

The room _was_ tiny, but he managed to fit his suitcase under the bed and hang his backpack on the chair tucked into the desk, and still have room to stand. He tossed his duffel bag on the bed, and then peered out the window above it. Mars still looked rather big and red behind them, along with an enormous Phobos. He supposed that it would take a while until the planet receded into the small bright dot in the night sky, and Phobos and Deimos disappeared entirely to the naked eye. The journey was supposed to take half a month, after all. He shook his head. The wonders of interplanetary travel. Apparently it had taken the first team to Mars nearly _five_ monthsto reach it, and they didn't even have an atmosphere to breathe back then.

Since his room was not very interesting, Phoenix let himself out to see what Rachel was up to and hopefully to explore the ship. He was startled by a loud girlish cry, and watched as his new friend was suddenly tackled by a smaller girl.

"Rachel!" the girl cried, hugging Rachel with her arms _and_ legs. Phoenix blinked. Rachel had said she had a friend on the trip, but she hadn't said she was a girlfriend….

"Ella!" Rachel said, laughing before she fell backwards onto the pile of luggage. "Oh my gosh, get off me! It feels like you've gained a zillion pounds!" she complained, heaving the other girl off her dramatically.

"What, since yesterday?" Ella asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know me, eating all the snack packs like they're going out of style." She grabbed the handle to the pink suitcase as she climbed up off the floor.

"Yeah, you go through and steal all the cherries," Rachel added with a wink and a snort of laughter.

"Do not!" Ella smacked the redhead lightly on the shoulder. "Seriously, get your mind out of the gutter."

"Can't. I've moved in already. Got myself an apartment and everything." Rachel laughed again as Ella gave her a dry look. She rolled over and stood up, noticing Phoenix and she turned away from Ella. "Oh, Phoenix, meet Ella," she said, gesturing between the two. "Ella, this is Phoenix. I met him about ten minutes ago."

Ella pushed back a strand of her long auburn hair and held out the hand that wasn't occupied with the hot pink suitcase. "It's nice to meet you," she said, shaking his hand when he put it out there.

"Yeah, you too," Phoenix responded automatically. What on earth had he gotten himself into when he had told Rachel he wanted to hang out with her? If his old friend Rayne wasn't aboard, he was probably going to be stuck hanging out with two hormone-crazed girls who probably would squeal and talk about sex every chance they got.

Then again, it could be worse, right? Two girls spending time with him for a whole month? Either Phoenix was going to get very bored, or…. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep his mind from going to places it shouldn't when he had only just met them.

He blinked, wondering if Lia had been alluding to this sort of thing when she had told him to "do something unexpected." He certainly hoped not. Then again… knowing his sister, this was probably _exactly_ the sort of thing she had been thinking of. She was always pointing out all the nice girls or boys whenever she visited him at school, and she was always really obvious about the pointing, too.**

Phoenix shook his head with a smile, waved at the girls who had already started gossiping quietly together, and headed back to his room. He was not going to Earth just to have a chance to flirt with people, no matter what Lia said. He was going on this trip to study history, and learn more about ancient Britannia. He pressed the keypad and flopped on the bed next to the duffel bag when the door opened. It slid shut behind him with a soft hiss.

Britannia and the Golden Age. The time period fascinated him. He knew it was geeky beyond belief, but he liked to imagine what it would have been like to live in that time and place. He could imagine what it would have been like to smell the roses in the garden at the Imperial Villa. And in his mind's eye, he could see Sir Lance Kozuki-Weinberg fly across the blue, cloud-dotted skies above the Atlantic Ocean in the Variable Knightmare Frame Isolde. He could hear the cheers of the people when Andreas li Britannia was crowned Emperor of the Holy Empire. He felt the tears of the country when Empress Nunnally the Gentle left the Golden Age she had created. He could almost feel what it would have been like to meet history's unsolved mystery, the masked man, Zero.

Phoenix rolled over, running a hand through his brown hair as he stared out the window at Mars and Phobos. Zero… the man shrouded in secrecy… and the subject of his honors research project. Ever since he was a child, Phoenix had been curious about the masked Japanese man who managed to raise an army from the ashes of a broken country. The man who had somehow fought back against the country that eventually took over the entire world. And somehow, despite being "killed" numerous times, Zero lived on, and freed the world from its greatest tyrant, Lelouch vi Britannia, the Devil of Britannia.

Just who had Zero been? It was a question that Phoenix longed to answer. Not only was it the greatest mystery in history, but for Phoenix, it was a little personal, too.

It was no coincidence that his last name was "Zero." Ever since he was little, his parents had told him that he was actually a descendent of the mysterious masked man who had lived and fought and died 1500 years ago. More often than not, Phoenix felt that it was simply a rather romantic and somewhat pointless idea, but at the same time, he secretly relished the fact that maybe, just maybe he was related to someone who had changed history in such a dramatic way.

It was his special link to the past, and somehow it made his decision to choose Zero as his focus of study that much more important. It seemed right, somehow, that he would look into it. Not that he thought he had any more of a chance of discovering something than anyone else.

With another sigh, Phoenix threw an arm over his face, blocking out the light. It was never too much to _hope_ he would find something incredible, right?

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_**U.M.S. Marterra, **_**Halfway Between Mars and Earth. Maius 36****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

"So…." Rachel began, drawing out the syllable for what seemed as long as possible. She had suddenly appeared out of a side corridor as Phoenix was making his way back to his room after dinner. "Did you ask anyone else if they wanted to watch it with us?"

He blinked a bit. "Oh, yeah. Rayne said he'd come. And Kevin said he might show up."

"Kevin's hot." Rachel was decisive.

"Who's hot?" Ella asked, even as Phoenix shook his head.

"Not my type," he answered, grimacing a little. Kevin seemed to be eight feet tall of towering muscle, and wasn't even remotely pretty in Phoenix's book.

"_Who?"_ Ella asked again. Phoenix had no idea where she had popped up from, but after Rachel had appeared, he knew to expect the other girl.

"Kevin, who's coming to the movie tonight," Rachel finally informed her. She pulled out a card-sized strawberry snack pack.

"You really shouldn't eat that in the hallway," Phoenix told her without expecting any response. She ignored him and tore the plastic edge off, and the inner plastic expanded rapidly.

"I want some," Ella chimed in as they arrived in the now all-too-familiar circular room with doorways to cabins 20 through 29. Ella slumped into the green couch, holding out a hand to Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes, but finished opening the snack pack and passed a strawberry to her friend. "You'll get fat, you know," she cautioned with a raised eyebrow. She turned to Phoenix and held out another berry with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Uh, sure." Phoenix took it, but hesitated before putting it into his mouth. "So, who all's going to be there?" He ate the strawberry while waiting for Rachel or Ella to answer.

"Oh, I got Tanya to come," Ella said brightly, swinging her legs up onto the couch and rolling onto her stomach.

"Oh, _did_ you," Rachel commented, laughing as Phoenix groaned.

"Seriously, you _did_ move into the gutter, didn't you…" Phoenix commented dryly. He rolled his eyes as, a moment later, Ella got the joke and started laughing.

"Psssst! Phoenix! Pick up! Dear little brother!" Phoenix sighed and reached for his PD, the source of the sound of Lia's rather obnoxious, sing-song voice. He held up one finger to Rachel and Ella, the time-honored signal of "just hold on a second while I deal with my annoying family member." He turned away from them as he tapped the screen.

The PD showed his fingerprint for a moment, and then unlocked, fading through navy blue to Lia's face. She was staring at him from her own PD, and Olympus Mons was towering in the background behind the hospital where she worked.

"Hey, Lia," Phoenix said, maneuvering himself to cabin 28.

"So? How's it going?" she asked nonchalantly. Phoenix wasn't fooled. Lia was always up to something, especially when she wanted to talk to him.

"Everything's great, actually. Though the gravity shift is getting really tiring." Phoenix was _not_ looking forward to the abnormally high gravity they would all be experiencing on Earth. He was used to practicing martial arts twice a week in Galileo University's high-gravity gym, but the _Marterra_ was slowly transitioning the gravity from Mars's level to Earth's throughout the duration of the trip. It wasn't much fun to _sleep_ in high gravity. He said as much to his sister.

"D'awww... I'm sorry, pookie," she said in the most patronizing tone she could give him. He rolled his eyes at her as she ignored his response and continued. "Well, do you still hang out with those two girls that you told me you don't think you'll ever date?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Well, have you met anyone else? Any great _buddies_ to hang out with? You got any plans?" she asked, teasing and encouraging at the same time.

"Actually, I _do_ have plans. We're watching a movie. And oh!" Phoenix mimicked being startled as he glanced to the upper right corner of his PD. "It looks like it's starting right now. Well, would you look at that…" He suddenly gave Lia a flat look. "Did you need something?"

She looked only slightly upset, but jumped into her real reason for calling without further ado. "Look, I have this patient who's really into all that Golden Age stuff—you know, like Knightmare Frames and FLEIAs and stuff like that—and I was thinking, maybe if you dug up some scrap of a Knightmare or something, I'd give it to her as a present—"

"What?!" Phoenix said in shock. "As if! If I find a piece of a Knightmare Frame, I'm keeping it for myself!" He shook his head, laughing. "I thought you knew me better than that…"

"No, I just meant that—sheesh, you'll be digging this stuff up for the rest of your life. If you get two pieces, or maybe a large piece and you could cut it in half—"

Phoenix gave a short laugh. "As if I'd cut up a piece of a Knightmare Frame…." He shook his head. "Though seriously, if I find something I don't want to keep for myself, I'll give it to you, and you can give it to her, okay? But no promises." He gave his sister a pointed look.

"Okay, fine. Thanks." She didn't look thrilled, but she knew she wasn't getting anything better out of Phoenix. He might be a nerd that spent more time in the history library than he did sleeping, but he was not a pushover to his own big sister.

"Anyway, my movie really is going to start soon, so I'd better get going," he said as a farewell. She waved and he disconnected, slipping the PD back into his pocket as he went to rejoin Rachel and Ella outside. They were sitting on the couch, watching some video on Ella's PD. (It, like her suitcases, was a bright pink.)

Together, the three walked down to the cinema, which had a few other students milling around at the doorway, most of them also members of the Uncovering Britannia's Remains program. He spotted Rayne, and gave him a smile, moving over to the silver-haired boy.

"Hey," he said casually as Rayne returned the smile. "Shall we head on in?" he gestured towards the door.

"Was Kevin coming?" Rayne asked, looking around, but nodding and smiling at the girls.

Phoenix shrugged. "I guess he can find us inside?"

Moments later, the four of them were settled into four comfy seats in the onboard theater. Rachel complained about not having popcorn, but was silenced as the lights suddenly dimmed and disappeared. Phoenix smiled, remembering the opening to the movie.

"_Our promise! It is to defend those without power from those who have power and would abuse it! We are… the Black Knights!"_ The voice echoed around the theater, followed by cheers and applause, which quickly died down. From the back of the theater came sudden footsteps. A hologram of Zero strode down the center aisle, and just before he vanished into the screen at the front, he said in a low, melancholy voice, _"I am Zero… the man of miracles…."_ His cape rippled and billowed to cover the entire screen as the opening credits and music began.

Phoenix smiled. This was probably his favorite movie, although it was nearly ten years old and full of historical inaccuracies. It told the (highly revised and romanticized) story of Zero: how he becomes an orphan and a refugee when Britannia conquers Japan, how he realizes he could become a symbol of hope for his people, how he gathers the fragments of the freedom fighters and forms an army, and how he fights against the might of an evil Empire. During this, Zero and Nunnally the Gentle fall madly in love, but realize that they can never be together. Zero is tied to the Black Knights, and Nunnally must devote herself to maintaining a peaceful Britannia.

Phoenix's favorite parts had always been the Knightmare Frame battles, especially the one where Zero's ace, Kallen Kouzuki fights Lelouch's, Suzaku Kururugi in the upper atmosphere, aboard Britannia's superweapon, the Damocles. While the Knightmares are zipping around outside, Zero rushes to the flying fortress's prison to rescue Nunnally, using ancient Japanese martial arts to get past the guards. Unfortunately, he only gets to shout _"I'll definitely come back for you!"_ to Nunnally, and her rescue has to wait until later when he assassinates Lelouch.

As the music swelled towards the end of the movie, Phoenix glanced over at the girls. Both had tears in their eyes, and Ella sniffed in a hurried breath as Nunnally the Gentle, played by award-winning actress Lorenne Gardbuir, said her final goodbye to the man under Zero's mask, played by a then-unknown who had since become a star.

"_I will… _always_ love you…."_

Zero bent down to give the young woman a kiss, and then kneeled in front of her wheelchair, taking her hand. _"We are both people who have duties that demand us to be more than human, to look away from the yearning of our human hearts. We must be strong and true to our goals, so that those we serve have a chance at such a beautiful and human happiness as we have shared._

"_Do not cry, Nunnally. Know that though perhaps it is silent, and hidden behind a mask, my love for you will always live on…. Nothing can change that."_

After another kiss, Zero slowly raised his mask to his face, and slid it into place as tears continued down Nunnally's face. He gave her a nod, which she returned shakily, and then he turned and strode down the hallway to face the waiting crowds.

Nunnally looked upwards, and smiled as the faint shouts of the crowd reached her and the theater slowly went dark.

"_Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero!"_

* * *

_**U.M.S. Marterra, **_**Above Earth. Maius 50****th****/June 6****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

"Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero!" Rachel said, punching her fist into the air to mimic the Black Knights in _The Mask Of Zero_. She aimed the last one at Phoenix's arm, and he gave her a flat stare.

"You're going to stop that once we land, right?" he asked, hoping that he wasn't going to be followed around the ancient cemetery by the sound of Rachel crying out to either him or a long-dead figure from history.

She buckled up her seatbelt, and gave him a wink. "Maaaybe."

"Wait, remind me again _why_ I said we could hang out," he asked, his voice full of mock hopelessness.

"Because otherwise you have no friends, Phoenix. Duh," she teased back.

Captain Formose's voice echoed around the flight deck. "Alright students, we're about to begin our landing procedures. You should all be seated and buckled in. If you are not, you must do so now. We will be experiencing strong gravitational forces and some strong turbulence as we enter Earth's atmosphere and descend to the surface. The _Marterra_ will be landing at sea, and from there it will be approximately ten minutes until we dock at Columbia Interplanetary Port. Please stay in your seats until the docking is complete."

Phoenix tightened his seatbelt and leaned back into his seat. Finally, they were arriving at the blue planet. Finally they were coming down to Earth, and towards the waiting remains of the Holy Britannian Empire.

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 6th, 1529 A.W.E.**

The jeep hovered past the thick foliage, sometimes knocking into branches and leaves. Occasionally they'd pass a brief metallic gleam—the remnants of the Golden Age and the bones of Britannia. Pheonix could feel his heart accelerate as they got closer and closer to their destination.

"It's just so _green_," Rachel said, transfixed at the window. Her eyes swiveled back and forth as she watched the numerous trees pass by.

Phoenix had to agree. Even the dirt looked like it had a greenish tinge. Furthermore, the green on Earth seemed to be of a different variety than the Martian kind. It was vibrant and pure, and it also happened to be _everywhere_. All of the trees, grass, bushes… and there were far more leafy trees, grassy patches, and scruffy bushes in one square kilometer of Terran turf than in the entirety of Galileo's extensive park system.

The caravan of jeeps started to slow, and finally it stopped and lowered to rest on the road. Despite the disgusting humidity of the air (or maybe because of it), Phoenix found himself gulping in deep breaths as he exited and took a few steps forward so he could poke a leaf.

These leaves were the same kind of leaves that Sir Lance Kozuki-Weinberg had surely touched. And that bush, Phoenix thought as he crouched next to a fern, maybe Nunnally the Gentle had put one just like it in her famous Peace Garden….

Professor Pailey's voice snapped him out of his history-induced trance. He dropped his hand from the frond he had been lovingly caressing, and stood to face his professor, his cheeks turning Martian red in embarrassment.

"Alright kids, the last leg of our journey is a short hike. It's uphill, but it's not far. Please stay on the trail, or you risk getting lost in the forest. You'll be introduced to the rest of the team when we arrive, and we'll show you what your group's duties are. Does everyone remember what group they're in and have at least one person in the group who remembers who their group leader is supposed to be?" Pailey asked, eyeing the crowd. After getting a few mumbled affirmative replies, he turned to the trail with a gesture to follow and a resounding, "Let's head out!"

Unlike any trail Phoenix had ever seen, this one was only wide enough for people to move up in single-file. There were also strange bumps and rocks and even the roots of trees crisscrossing it. Sometimes he had to duck under low branches, and everywhere the ferns were brushing against his legs. After stumbling twice in about twenty steps, Phoenix decided to keep both eyes on the ground in front of him.

His sense of hearing was still in working order, however, and he was surprised not at how quiet everyone (even Ella) was being, but at how many sounds came from other sources. Birds called and chirped in a variety of tweets and whistles. At one point, Phoenix thought he heard a frog, but he couldn't be sure.

They climbed to the top of the hill, and then suddenly they stepped out into a broad meadow. It was obvious that the trees had been recently removed from the area, because there was dark earth and low, sawed-off tree trunks spotting the clearing, and unlike a true grassy field, this one was dotted with low bushes. The sky overhead was a strange, perfect blue, with white, puffy clouds floating gently along.

"Welcome to the Britannian Royal Cemetery!" Pailey boomed, turning around to face the cluster of students. "Here's where we'll be spending most of our time for the next few months. And here's our professional team," he continued, gesturing towards the four adults who had walked over from a bench next to a tent where they had apparently been enjoying lunch.

"Shirley Arlington is a professor at Helios University—" Pailey began, holding his hand towards a short woman with close-cropped and amazingly curly hair, but stopped as she interrupted him.

"When I'm not out here, that is," she laughed, putting a hand on Pailey's arm. She only came up to his shoulder.

Pailey pulled a smile. "Right, when she's not out here on Earth, digging things up. She's the author of three books, which all of you should read if you haven't already." Pailey looked towards the next person in line, a tall, dark-haired man dressed in a tacky floral-print shirt and khaki shorts. "This is Dr. Erik Beradoire, who specializes in early Golden Age history." The students nodded appreciatively and Dr. Beradoire smiled. Phoenix noticed that he had the distinctive bad fashion of wearing socks under his sandals.

"Faery Trin is our lead archeologist here. She's the one who found the cemetery, and who got us all the funding and licensing to dig here." Phoenix liked the look of the wiry woman with hair that was fading into gray. She wore a wide-brimmed hat and a tank top, and was covered in dust. Obviously she had been working. "Dr. Trin is an amazing woman, and you are all very lucky to work with her. I doubt anyone knows more about Zero than this woman here. Please ask her questions, because I've worked with her before and I know she loves the sound of her own voice as much as she loves digging up Golden Age artifacts."

Dr. Trin rolled her eyes, stepping forward and pointing a thumb at Professor Pailey. "You guys don't actually take this guy seriously, do you?" She smiled warmly, and winked at the students. "Nah, he's a good guy, and we're all happy to have a bunch of minions, oh, I mean, _excited students_ to do our bid—I mean, _help and learn_." She winked again, as the researcher at the end of the line whispered something to her. She tossed her braid and whispered something back.

"On the end there is my good friend Tony Duvalle. He's a graduate of Galileo U, and since then he's been working all over Earth, though mostly in Japan or out here in North America." Tony waved and then scratched his blond head, nodding at Phoenix and the rest of the students. "Well, that's the team. You all know your group leaders, so why don't you go ahead and introduce yourselves and get started. The day is shorter out here, so let's not waste any daylight!" Pailey took a step back, and then continued, "My group, over here!"

Phoenix looked over at Ella and Rachel, who were in his group, along with the towering Kevin and a thin, athletic girl named Hazel. Their group leader was Faery Trin.

After introductions, made a short distance from the tent, Dr. Trin told them to just "get out and explore a bit" before they got to work. She felt it was more important for them to get a general layout of the land before they went to work in one of the tombs. She ducked inside the tent, and then handed Phoenix and Hazel each a map of the surrounding area.

"Go ahead and split up if you like, but be sure to use the buddy system, and be sure to take your lunches with you. I don't want to see you until this afternoon, okay?" Dr. Trin's tanned, wrinkled face cracked into a smile. "See you later, kiddos!" She waved them off and disappeared back into the tent.

They quickly decided to split up, and which groups to split into—Kevin and Hazel were recently romantically involved, and Phoenix, Rachel, and Ella were close friends—and Phoenix held out the map for his two friends to see.

"Where do you think we should go?" he asked, though in truth, it didn't seem as if the map was very helpful in deciding that. It showed a few nearby gravesites with names, and the edges appeared to be nothing but trees, with an occasional landmark, such as, "Mud" or "Large Rock".

"Shall we just go wherever we like and hope we don't get lost?" Rachel asked, looking up from the map and gazing around.

"I like that idea," Ella said, pushing the map to Phoenix. He shrugged. It sounded all right with him. He figured they wouldn't go too far from the actual clearing and the cemetery. He glanced at the map, and saw that there was supposed to be an old stone wall that had encircled the cemetery. He made a mental note not to go very far past it as he and the girls picked a direction and started walking.

As they reached the edge of the clearing, Rachel took the map from Phoenix. "I guess they haven't found any real important tombs yet, huh?" she asked, glancing at Phoenix for confirmation. He nodded.

The only name that instantly chimed within him had been Andreas li Britannia, Nunnally the Gentle's heir and Princess Cornelia's son. Otherwise the marked graves belonged to the relatively unknown nobility and royalty that had passed through Britannia's history. Phoenix recognized a few names, but weren't sure of who their owners had been.

"The excavation has only just started, so it's not surprising," he told Rachel. "Though wouldn't it be exciting to be here when they find a really important one?" he asked, unable to contain his excitement. He could feel it bubbling up inside him, and knew that he was going to go into another horrifically nerdy moment.

"Yeah, that'd be neat," Rachel said, yawning and looking towards Ella.

"What if our group finds Nunnally the Gentle's tomb or something? What if we find where Lance Kozuki-Weinberg is buried?" Phoenix walked forward, basking in the glow of his own fantasies. In his mind's eye, he was blowing the dust off an ancient stone, no, he was pulling back the vines from a large stone in a cliff-face, and deciphering the writing underneath it. Phoenix grinned and then tripped over a bush, stumbling and catching his balance awkwardly.

The girls laughed. "You are such a _geek_!" Ella laughed, shaking her head.

Phoenix blushed and turned away. "Well, let's keep going," he announced, striding off, but this time watching his feet carefully. He was still excited though. Maybe they would run into something during their exploration before lunch. What if they found something important? Like Lord Jeremiah Gottwald's tomb, or maybe a piece of a Knightmare Frame? He ducked under a low branch and carefully stepped over a protruding root as he let his imagination wander. He was glad to be here, on Earth. It felt like some kind of destiny awaited him.

And now, Phoenix Zero was marching towards it. He took a deep breath of Terran air. Inexorably, his powerful imagination told him, he was moving forward, towards some kind of incredible adventure, and an amazing discovery. His footsteps felt purposeful, yet strangely uncontrolled. A smile spread across his face, and he took a deep breath of the humid air, smelling the strange scents of the moist earth and the leaves and the clumps of white clover.

Phoenix slowly increased his pace, feeling as if the air and the faint noises on the wind charged him with near electric potential. He crossed the broken remains of ancient stone wall built to protect the graveyard from trespassers, his feet taking him exactly to the only space where he could easily cross. He stepped through the passage, trailing his fingers along the time-softened edges of stone on either side where the wall was at eye level. Large chunks of rock were sunken into the moss-covered earth. Phoenix left the wall behind and began climbing the hill before him, his eyes flitting from one green object to the next, drawn forward by the sense of a culminating destiny.

It was okay every once in a while to follow one's gut instinct, wasn't it? He grabbed onto a large branch to help pull himself up the increasingly steep slope. The truth was that Phoenix hardly ever had an exciting moment, being usually cooped up in the library…. He was never out in the open, watching the sunlight play along the shadows of the hills, urging him forward… and Lia had told him to have an adventure…. He pushed his way past a low clump of ferns… and deep within, Phoenix was _craving_ an adventure, was enjoying the tingling feeling in his veins, the slight tremble in his limbs as he crested the ridge, the thud of his heart against his ribcage… and suddenly Phoenix was perfectly still.

Eyes wide open, staring forward, Phoenix hardly dared to breath.

The hillside was cut away strangely, and two large, rectangular stones were on either side of a dark, cavernous entrance. Tall trees shaded the area, and long vines trailed along each stone, covering what appeared to be ancient writing, worn away by rain and dirt but still slightly visible.

The wind blew gently through the trees, causing the dappled shadows on the ground to sway and blur. Phoenix heard the whistle as the wind blew across the opening to the tunnel, and then all was silent again. He took a slow step forward, his heart pounding.

He reached out a hand, and then followed it, slowly moving forward until he lightly touched the stone block on the right. He looked up, and saw that there was another, hidden block resting upon the two at the side. It was covered with vines and overhanging clods of dirt and grass. But if he looked carefully, Phoenix could see the four letters spread evenly across its vine-tangled surface.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't look away. And it was only after the girls finally caught up with him, shook him roughly to try to get him out of his trance, and asked him what the heck he was doing running off like that, only after that did Phoenix point to the letters and whisper.

"Zero."

* * *

The entire archeology team celebrated that evening. Phoenix had raced back down the hillside towards the old cemetery, and had shouted incoherently upon his approach so that everyone in the vicinity had gathered, thinking some wild animal had chased him. But after he had gasped out the truth and the girls had verified his tale, they had led both Dr. Trin and Professor Pailey up to the tomb. Armed with flashlights, they had entered the dark tunnel, and then went into the large room at the end, which held only a large coffin, encased in perfect, dusty white marble. The inscription on the top was in Golden Age Japanese, which Dr. Trin translated.

_Here lies Zero, the Man of Miracles. May his spirit forever live on._

Phoenix was toasted a million times over, and the entire camp shouted "Zero! Zero!" in his honor. When the sun started to set, Dr. Beradoire gathered brush and wood, lit it on fire, and before too long, everyone had joined in the hysterical cavorting around the bonfire in the warm evening air. Several hours later, it was getting too dark to see clearly and they collectively decided it was time to wander back to the waiting jeeps.

A sloppy smile still graced Phoenix's features as he picked his way carefully along with the group down the narrow trail. It was full dark, and Earth's pale moon, Luna, hung over the green hills on the eastern horizon, nothing more than a shadowy silver crescent.

Phoenix hung back, staring through the dark leaves at the patches of deep blue sky. He felt the curl of excitement that had twisted through his chest earlier that morning when he turned to look up the hillside to the dark patch of dense trees, behind which lay Zero. His breath caught for a moment, and it seemed as though the world had paused to take a deep breath.

The breeze slowed. The insects quieted. Phoenix turned to follow the group….

Something white flashed in the trees to his right. Phoenix blinked, snapped out of his trance, and peered into the dim starlight that filtered down through the trees.

Had it been his imagination? A trick of the moonlight? Some terran animal?

Phoenix waited, staring and blinking for a few more seconds, and then turned back to the trail. It was just getting late, and he wasn't used to the way light moved in the Terran forests. The group was a short way ahead of him, hidden behind the foliage, though it looked like someone—was it Karen?—was waiting for him at the bend in the trail.

Phoenix made his way down the dark and narrow track, giving a wave to the girl, and then tripped on a root. He stumbled forward a few steps, catching himself by flailing his arms out and grabbing a branch. He looked up in embarrassment, but Karen was gone.

A chill night wind blew through the trees, rustling the dark leaves, and Phoenix suddenly realized how far behind the group he really was. He shivered involuntarily, the tingle of excitement becoming something more like a dark anticipation, or dread. Come to think of it, no one had been wearing such pale clothes, and certainly not a peculiar hat like the one the figure on the trail had been wearing….

Phoenix quickened his pace, his heart beginning to thump loudly in his chest. A long fern brushed past his side like gentle fingers, and he flinched away, but something caught his foot and held him fast. His face pitched towards the ground, and his hands plunged into the damp ground of the trail.

He blinked and gasped for air, feeling the humidity and sweltering gravity of Earth pressing all around him. He rose to his feet shakily, and then stared in a mixture of horror and fascination as he saw the same pale figure from before, this time much closer, just off the trail to his right.

Phoenix could not take his eyes from the man, clad in an elaborate white and gold gown, adorned with shining red eyes. The clouds fluttered suddenly away from the moon, and the silver light illuminated the man's strange amethyst eyes. Phoenix sucked in a quick breath as he realized he could see the pale shadows of the trees and bushes and ferns _through_ the man. A tree suddenly pressed against his back, and the clawlike fingers of its branch grasped for his hair, and only then did Phoenix realize he had drawn back in fear, had twisted the low vines around his ankles. He felt paralyzed, staring straight into the man's terrifying eyes.

They shined with the dark, silent starlight, and a sharp, red despair.

Phoenix tore his eyes away, desperately, and ran.

* * *

**End Chapter One  
**

**

* * *

**_Footnotes:_

*Mars's orbit and rotation is different from Earth's, so I've taken the liberty of making up my own Martian clock/calendar. Because it takes about 24 and a half (Earth) hours for Mars to complete a full rotation, I'll just be claiming that Martian time has seconds, minutes, and hours slightly longer than Earth. This means that although it takes longer to get to "noon" on Mars than it does on Earth, the sun is still roughly in the center of the sky at "noon" on both planets.

However, the Martian year is almost twice that of Earth's, so I've taken the liberty of giving them 11 months that are 55 sols (Martian days) long, and one with 54 sols. The names of months correspond roughly to Earth's, with a Gundam SEED-esque theme.

As for years, I would like to pretend that in the future, wars don't exist. The After War Era began when the last large-scale war ended. Nunnally the Gentle, along with Zero, China's young Empress, and the leaders of other nations made the After War Era official one year after Lelouch the Devil's assassination and 1,529 years before this story takes place.

** Did you know that a long time ago, people who were left-handed were thought to be marked thus by the devil? It's strange, but true. However, we've seen a huge change in how people view lefties since then. People have even voted lefties into the presidency of America. Obviously, no one cares if you're left-handed or not, and no one believes it makes you evil.

I hope that the same is true for sexuality in the future. Today, we're at a point in history where people with atypical sexuality are persecuted, but if the trend towards tolerance continues, perhaps sexuality will someday be judged just as (un)important as handedness. In the same way that I've pretended that the future has no wars, I'm pretending that in the future, _bi_sexuality is the assumed typical sexuality. As a product of their age, Phoenix and his friends know that it is perfectly natural for a person to be attracted to both sexes, though of course they have their preferences.

_Author's Notes: Again, I hope you enjoyed the introduction to this story. Please review and let me know what you think! I respond to every review, and enjoy doing so, so please feel free to ask questions as you leave your comments and critiques. Thanks._


	2. Chapter Two

_Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who left a review! I can't tell you how happy I am to get that kind of feedback._

_ Psyche_07: I'm glad you brought up that point about history! I think it's really interesting, and for me, one of the fun things about writing this story is that I get to bend things and try to guess just how different the truth from the history really is. Especially after something like Hollywood gets to a story, too. Thanks for the review! Also, go ahead and get yourself an account (it's easy to do). Usually I don't reply to anonymous reviews (because I don't like to waste too much space up here).  
_

_Finally, I'd like to personally thank **Darthlink79** for being very helpful with the technology that appears in this chapter (among other things). Please do your best to support and read and review **Darthlink79**'s stories._

* * *

**From the Ashes**

* * *

**Columbia Interplanetary Port Harbor, Eastern America, Earth. June 7****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

* * *

When dawn broke across the wide, rolling waves of the Atlantic, the light streamed across the sky, falling towards the shoreline, and in particular, through the window of a cabin on the interplanetary vessel _Marterra_.

Phoenix blinked and drew in a deep breath, his lungs tired already after working all night in the higher gravity of Earth. He wiped a hand through his bushy brown hair, rolled over to get away from the morning light, and tried to go back to sleep.

A figure, nearly invisible and clad in white, flashed across his closed eyelids.

Phoenix sat up with a startled gasp, throwing his blankets into a tangled mess in his lap. He took a deep breath and stared out the window, at the calm harbor waves, and at the orange clouds on the horizon. Last night… that strange figure… had it even been real? He wiped an arm across his face. It was hard to say for sure.

Realizing that further sleep was likely to be elusive, Phoenix yawned and stretched. Whatever he had seen last night was likely a figment of his imagination, and at any rate, was far lass frightening in the warm comfort of the rising sun. He blinked as the deep, golden light pierced his retinas, and then leaned his shoulder into the wall of the cabin, moving out of the light. He wrinkled his brow, suddenly wishing he hadn't mentioned the ghostly figure to Rachel or Ella. He recalled last night as having a panicky, dreamlike quality, but remembered vividly the disbelief in Ella's eyes and the slight concern in Rachel's green ones. He felt a little silly now, sitting in his bed aboard the _Marterra_, and knew that he probably deserved the teasing he was in for. No doubt both girls were going to jump out at him from small corridors until they left for the cemetery.

He sighed, and pulled himself out of bed. But as he contemplated the coming day, he couldn't help but smile, remembering his great accomplishment from the day before—the huge discovery he had made within his first hour at the archeological site.

Zero.

All of a sudden, it was difficult to finish putting his pants on without falling over. Today they were going to open a tomb that had been sealed for nearly two millennia. Today they would see the true mask of Zero, for supposedly his identity had remained a secret to those around him even after his death, and he had been buried in the mask—the face his people knew.

As he tore off his shirt, Phoenix wondered how it was going to feel to look down on Zero—the actual, real one. Of course, Zero was dead, and it was rather morbid to imagine staring down at a moldy old corpse, no matter _who_ the flesh had once belonged to, but Phoenix was excited. He would see the actual mask Zero wore… and maybe….

Maybe they would find out who was underneath it.

Phoenix trembled with the kind of anticipation that only a true nerd could muster, and decided it was time for a cup of coffee and some breakfast. He pulled a t-shirt out of his suitcase, wrestled it on, then grabbed his PD and his meds on his way to the door.

Phoenix suddenly paused, taking a good look at himself in the mirror on the back of his door. He certainly didn't _look_ like an explorer. He was a nineteen-year-old boy in faded jeans and a white t-shirt with curving gold lines that looked like a Knightmare frame if he squinted. Phoenix blinked his green eyes. Even if he had been dressed in the classic white shirt with a brown leather jacket and maybe one of those cool hats, he wasn't sure he was much to look at. Although he wouldn't exactly call himself short, Phoenix was certainly not tall. And although he knew he had enough muscle to give his martial arts instructor a tough spinkick in high gravity, he still somehow managed to look thin and rather puny. Rachel had once used the word "lean", but Phoenix wasn't sure he agreed. He sighed and ran a hand through his fluffy hair that was never going to be smooth enough to be in style. It flopped back into place when he dropped his hand. Phoenix sighed, rolled his eyes at himself, stuffed his feet into his flip-flops, and then opened the door.

He tromped down the hallway, wiping his bleary eyes. There weren't many people out and about because it was still ridiculously early. The cafeteria was mostly deserted. At least there was no line for coffee.

Phoenix picked up a cinnamon-raisin bagel to go with his latte, and sat at an empty table. He pulled out his clear, matchbox-sized case of Dopaizin, his preventative, anti-schizo medication, and suddenly stared at them as realization dawned on him.

It was small surprise that he had seen a ghostly figure the previous evening. Phoenix shook his head with a relieved smile, and rattled one small, white pill into his palm. He dropped it into his coffee so it could dissolve, and put the case back into his pocket.

Certainly it was weird that he had actually had some kind of hallucination, but it could easily be explained when he took into account several factors. Phoenix had inherited a genetic mutation that was linked to schizophrenia, or at least some of its symptoms. Like his father before him, Phoenix had been prescribed Dopaizin at fourteen, to prevent him from developing symptoms. One pill, dissolved or swallowed daily, and he had never had any problems. Until now. But maybe coming to Earth had changed the way the drug acted, either by confounding the action of the drug with some Terran pollute, or because Phoenix was constantly pumping excitatory neurotransmitters through his brain by going into geek heaven at every opportunity.

He sighed and took a sip of coffee. It was probably the latter. What could be more of a leap into geek paradise than finding Zero's tomb and partying for the rest of the day? Well, there was always opening up the actual tomb, which would take place after he finished breakfast, left the _Marterra_, and climbed back up the narrow trail to the cemetery.

Phoenix concentrated on his bagel, telling himself that if he wanted to avoid seeing ghosts, he should at least _try_ to remain calm. Fantasizing about opening Zero's marble coffin was _not_ going to help. He made a mental note to call Lia, who knew a little bit about neurology, although it wasn't really her field. At the very least, she could probably tell him if it was Earth or himself that was causing the problem. And she could always ask one of her colleagues.

The cinnamon-raisin bagel was delicious, and he made sure to drink every last drop of his coffee to be sure to get all the Dopaizin in his system. Apparently he needed it.

Though if the figure had been a product of his own mind, just who was it that his mind had conjured? Phoenix knew the man had looked familiar, and that the elaborate robes belonged to the Golden Age, but… he couldn't quite place the pale face and the dark hair. He was fairly certain that the eyes… those had been entirely his imagination. No one had such weird purplish eyes, with those creepy, blood-red markings instead of pupils.

The morning bell chimed abruptly throughout the _Marterra_, shaking Phoenix from his musings. He sighed and stuffed the rest of his bagel into his mouth. It was probably best not to think too hard on the delusions of a psychotic mind. Especially if that mind were his own.

He stood, and took his coffee cup to the washing counter before heading back towards his cabin. He pulled out his PD, and scrolled through his contacts until he reached Lia Zero.

By the time he had flopped onto the green couch outside his cabin, Lia had picked up. It was evening at the hospital, and Olympus Mons was a flaming orange outside his sister's window. He was surprised that she was still at work.

"Hey Phoenix, what's up?" she asked, setting her PD on the stand on her desk so she could lean back into her chair and still talk to him.

"Um, I think I'm having some problems with my meds," he said, scratching behind an ear uncertainly. She looked concerned. He sighed. "So, last night I thought I saw this guy, except he looked like a ghost. I could see right through him." He shrugged as Lia continued waiting. After a moment, he continued in a slightly annoyed toned. "I'd prefer not to see him again." He gave her a pointed look.

"You're still popping your pills, right?" she asked. He nodded. "Well… what, you're still on Dopaizin, right?" Again, Phoenix nodded at the PD. One of the cabin doors opened nearby, and a groggy student stumbled out towards the bathroom. "Hmm… have you had any side effects?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Unless slight euphoria is a side effect… Oh! I didn't tell you what happened yesterday, did I?" he asked, pulling the small screen closer to his face and grinning.

Lia raised her eyebrows. "Uh yeah, actually, you were just telling me that you saw a ghost…."

"No! I found Zero's tomb, Lia! Zero's _tomb! _I mean, the actual thing:_ Zero's _tomb!" He couldn't contain his enthusiasm, and Hazel, who had just walked out of her room gave him a long stare, shaking her head as she went to knock on Kevin's door.

Lia looked surprised. "Really? That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, I was just out walking around, and then it was right in front of me! It's this cave in a hillside, and it's… augh, you'd have to see it. We're going to _open_ it today, if all goes right." Phoenix was now bouncing slightly on the couch, and Lia gave a laugh.

"Well, if I'm ever out on Earth, I'll go see it. You didn't happen to find anything you're willing to give my patient, did you?" she asked.

"No, I don't think there's going to be much pick-up-and-take-with-you stuff out here. It's mostly tombstones and bodies, actually."

Lia made a disgusted face and stuck out her tongue. "Ew. Anyway, I don't know much about your seeing ghosts problem, but I can ask some of the staff here. You should probably call your brain doc, though. You're at the age where schizo hits, though, so maybe it just means you need to switch to something else. It sucks that you've just gotten out to Earth, though…." Lia looked thoughtful, and then shrugged.

The door to cabin twenty-six opened, and Rachel walked out, yawning. She waved to Phoenix, and then pounded on Ella's door.

"Yeah, I'll do that," Phoenix responded automatically. He watched as Ella's door opened and Rachel jumped in, cackling. He heard Ella's shriek and smiled to himself, shaking his head. He looked back to his sister. "Look, I'll check back in with you later, alright?"

"Sure. See ya," Lia said, and then disconnected. Phoenix tucked his PD away in his pocket and went to his room to put his pills away.

He smiled as he passed by the laughing girls, and then let out a long breath in relief. It was good to know that there really was no such thing as ghosts.

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 7****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

Dr. Trin did most of the talking when the news crew arrived, although the reporter did pull Phoenix aside and ask him a few questions in front of the camera. It was both exciting and a little unnerving to know that his answers were going to be posted on a news site that people actually subscribed to. He had been worried that he was going to make a fool of himself, but really the reporter had just wanted to know where he went to school and then what he been thinking when he found the tomb.

He had told the reporter he had just been out exploring, having decided to keep quiet about how he had felt the experience to be his culminating destiny. Phoenix sighed. It would be embarrassing to be that cheesy in such a public fashion. He wiped a hand across the back of his neck, feeling gross and sweaty even in the afternoon shade.

Dr. Beradoire smiled at Phoenix, showing him a celebratory bottle of champagne, and motioned for him to go up the trail first. Rachel and Ella tagged along behind him, ducking past the freshly cut branches as they climbed the steep hill to Zero's tomb.

At the front of the group, Professor Pailey and Dr. Trin were chatting, followed by more students and then Phoenix, while at the back, the news crew was attaching float wings to their heavier equipment and tugging the gently hovering cameras and tripods behind them by sturdy leashes.

As soon as he stood once again in front of Zero's tomb, Phoenix felt his blood tingle. He moved towards Professor Pailey, remembering the man's promise that Phoenix be allowed to stand in the front, right at the head of the tomb, and be one of the first people to look at Zero since his death 1,453 years ago. Phoenix dragged in a shallow breath of humid Earth air and followed the research team into the dark tunnel.

The flashlights illuminated the marble walls, which were streaked with dried mud that had leaked through cracks during periods of heavy rain, and the light reflected off the dusty mirrors at the far end, in the room where Zero lay. The buzz of the insects disappeared and the only sounds were their footsteps on the dirt and the hush of the group's quiet breaths.

Phoenix felt another rush of excitement course through him like a sudden chill as his right foot touched the black marble on the floor of the burial chamber. Zero's tomb loomed in front of him, and somehow it seemed as if all of the light in the room bounced off the mirrored walls only to fall directly on the block of white marble that encased the masked man.

Suddenly, the room filled with a brilliant light as the news crew arrived and turned on the lights they needed for their cameras. The reporter apologized for having turned the light on so suddenly as Phoenix blinked rapidly to help his eyes adjust to the light.

But most of the researchers weren't paying the reporter any attention, and Phoenix knew why as he joined in the collective gasp and looked around. With only the light of their flashlights, they had been unable to see the true beauty of the room.

The four walls sprang up into a high dome, painted into two halves, one dark and one light. The dark side portrayed Zero with an arm flung forward, urging his Black Knights forward across a fiery battlefield while black ash rained down from a red Mount Fuji behind them. The other side showed Zero amid a whirl of golden-white sakura petals, kneeling with one hand outstretched towards a beautiful, wheelchair-bound woman while two other ladies held hands behind them, placing their outside hands on the shoulders of the pair in the front, a portrait of unity and harmony.

The edges of the great dome melted into the mirrored walls and stretched into the four pillars of white marble at the corners. Phoenix recognized pieces of Zero's most famous speeches inscribed on the columns in ancient, vertical Japanese writing. The black marble of the floor was veined with flashes of gold, and although everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust, it remained entirely beautiful.

Pailey cleared his throat quietly. "Well, this is it." He took a step towards Zero's tomb and pulled his backpack off his shoulders, letting an adventurous smile slide onto his features. "Zero, would you lend a hand?" he asked, looking directly at Phoenix, even as the news crew blinked and looked confused. It sounded like Pailey was talking to the tomb, rather than to a student.

Phoenix felt himself turn red as he nodded and made his way to the head of the tomb to help his adviser set up the float equipment that would lift the cover off the tomb. Tony Duvalle began doing the same with Dr. Trin at the opposite end as the reporter motioned his cameraman in for a close shot, and the bunch of students crowded in the tunnel began whispering and pushing each other for a better view.

"Take this and push it on the cover over there," Pailey directed, handing Phoenix one of the suction cups that was attached to the high-power float wings. Phoenix nodded, and pressed the cup firmly onto the lid. The fiber optic light on the rim flashed orange for a moment as the cup flattened against the surface, and then suddenly turned green.

He paused, and then brushed a finger lightly against the smooth, dusty marble. His pulse trembled, and his breath faltered for a moment. He was really out here, finding and doing important things. He was making his own name in history….

Or was he reviving someone else's?

Phoenix smiled to himself, focusing on the suction cup so he didn't go schizo-euphoric and start seeing ghosts again. But the perfect symmetry of life did not go by unnoticed. He was Phoenix Zero, and it was not only right and natural, but perhaps the greater movement of Destiny with a capital D that had brought him here, to this point in life.

He stepped back a little from the tomb and gave Pailey a quick nod. The large man glanced to Dr. Trin and Tony, who were talking about the vaccuum of their suction cups, and then Tony sent Pailey a thumbs-up as the lights flashed to green.

Dr. Trin tapped the reporter on the shoulder and the cameraman moved back so he could get the entire thing in a wide shot.

"Ready?" Pailey's voice boomed out, quieting the students in the entryway. Dr. Trin nodded and held up the float controller, pressing the button that brought it humming to life.

Immediately the dust on the top of the marble rectangle bounced into the air, floating a few centimeters in the air. The hum of the float units lowered a note, and the suction cups held fast as the marble covering slowly lifted into the air.

The living held their breath.

Dust shivered off the edges of the marble as it floated higher, and light poured into the box beneath it.

Phoenix saw the gleam of light across a shaded helmet, and his knees went weak. He leaned forward as soon as the lid cleared his head, drawing in a slow, controlled breath between slightly parted lips.

Zero. It was Zero. In the flesh, although it looked as if the flesh had seen better days. The red of the inside of his cape seemed faded, and the deep, midnight blue of his suit appeared as a faded purple, but the gold trim still caught the light. His arms were folded across his chest, his hands still encased in tight leather gloves. Eerily enough, the only hint that Zero was actually dead was the utter stillness in his pose, because not one centimeter of skin was bared. Phoenix doubted he really wanted to see Zero's skin after he had been dead for so long, but…

Phoenix was surprised at how strong his impulse to touch the mask was, and how difficult it was for him to resist reaching out a hand to stroke the smooth, hard plastic. He twined his fingers together firmly behind his back, and let his eyes take in the sight.

Dr. Trin gave a low whistle as she finished landing the lid in a corner of the room and turned to look at Zero's body.

The sound seemed to break the stunned silence, and cheers erupted. The professional team started shaking hands and Pailey gave everyone a resounding clap on the back as Dr. Beradoire held up the bottle of champagne and then faced towards the entrance to pop the lid off and invite his colleagues to take a frothy sip.

Phoenix smiled, and dropped his eyes to Zero once more. He didn't look serene, or peaceful, as Phoenix had heard most dead people looked. Instead, he just seemed dead. Too still.

But who was underneath that mask? Who was dressed in the fading suit, forever wearing the thin black gloves, eternally wrapped in the dark, high-collared cape? Phoenix's hand had broken free from the other, and a single finger was slowly moving towards the black helmet before he even realized what he was doing, before he understood his own desire.

He caught himself, poised a centimeter above the gleaming mask. He didn't want to take the mask _from_ the dead man, no… he just wanted to touch it, to give in to the temptation and the feeling that this—_this_—would give him that connection he was suddenly yearning for. He paused, his mind torn in two.

He really shouldn't touch such an ancient historical… artifact, though it was hard to call Zero himself an artifact. But really, he didn't know what damage even the slightest touch could do to the frail and decomposed body.

On the other hand, Phoenix could feel the strange tug of Destiny again. His heart was pumping blood through his veins in the way that convinced him he, unlike Zero, was desperately alive. His senses were strained, alert beyond usual waking—he could hear each distinct whisper of the crowd and the splashes of white foamy champagne as it fell to the dirt in the entrance tunnel. The smell of earth, dust, champagne, and sweat mingled in the air, and for a moment he felt the world as if removed from his own body.

He lowered his hand to the mask and lightly brushed his fingers across it, leaving a three-fingered trail in the light dust. Without this man, Phoenix wouldn't exist.

But this man was… silent. Still.

Dead.

The thought suddenly filled Phoenix with an inexplicable dread, and he could feel his heart pound. He pulled his hand back quickly, and took a quick step away from the dead man. The room felt chilly, and Phoenix realized it was indeed a burial chamber, a tomb, an ancient crypt filled with only the trespassing living and the cold, somber sleep that wasn't really sleep.

He needed to see the sunlight, to reassure himself that he wasn't dying, that he was still among the living. That he wasn't going to be the corpse displayed in the center of the room, slowly crumbling into pieces of dried bone, that he was still young and immortal, still alive, still _living on_….

Phoenix blinked as he stared at the long green grass, swaying in the gentle breeze. Hadn't he just been inside the…? He turned around, and saw that he stood just outside Zero's tomb, the large stone pillars on either side of the cave standing just as solidly as always. Rachel and Ella came walking out of the tomb, Ella looking concerned and Rachel looking slightly bored.

Phoenix turned around again, facing the trees and the steep slope below him as he tried to regain his thoughts. Had he really just walked out here without any memory of doing so?

"Hey, is everything alright?" Ella asked, coming up beside him.

He turned to look at her, and then looked down at her feet instead. "I…." He shook his head and turned his gaze upwards, towards a small bird. "It's really incredible, isn't it," he said, trying to sound as excited as he knew he should be. "Zero's actually in there, you know. I know I shouldn't have, but I kinda touched the mask," he confessed, and suddenly he realized exactly what he was saying and what he was confessing to.

Abruptly he felt himself return to normal, and put the weird event past him. He had just gotten a little claustrophobic, that was all. He turned to face the two girls so suddenly that he startled Rachel.

"This is just so cool! You know that this is all beyond my wildest dreams, right?" he asked, his face stretching into a smile. "I would've been happy if _anyone_ had found his tomb, but it was _me_. And also, we actually just opened up the tomb. And I guess no one was looking, but really guys, I couldn't help myself—you know how I get—and before I knew it, I was just petting the mask, and augh! It's not like it was just a mask, that was _Zero's_ mask! And he was still wearing it!" Phoenix laughed, bouncing on the balls of his feet as Rachel and Ella exchanged a long look before bursting into laughter with him.

"Uh-oh, he's rambling," Rachel said, rolling her eyes. "I think he probably has a fever."

"I hope geekiness isn't contagious," Ella laughed, and Phoenix collected himself sufficiently to look indignant.

"I'm heading back in—I don't want to miss anything important!" he said, brushing past them to go gaze at his hero again.

But it was probably best to not put off his call to his psychiatrist any longer.

* * *

Phoenix peered into the dense tangle of dark and shadowy foliage, and blamed his nerves on his experience from the previous night. He vowed not to get left behind in the Terran night as the group began making its way down the trail to the jeeps. He kept himself between Rachel and Ella, because separating the two of them was nearly as impossible as gravity deciding to take a holiday.

Though a few moments later, Phoenix wondered if his decision had been a smart one.

"Oh! What was that?" Rachel gasped, pointing an arm into the darkness of the forest. Her other arm grabbed his shoulder from behind, and held it tensely. Phoenix jumped and strained his tired eyes searching for something that wasn't there, before turning to give Rachel a stern look as he pried her hand off his shoulder.

Once again, Luna was hanging low in the sky, an even slimmer crescent than the previous night. The trees were dark and looming. The insects were quiet, but still present as a low, ominous hum that reverberated throughout the silhouetted scenery.

They took a few more steps down the trail before Ella suddenly sucked in a breath and grabbed his arm. Phoenix tensed, even though he _knew_ she was just playing him. Ella slowly turned to face him, her green eyes catching the hint of moonlight. "Did you see that?" she whispered carefully, her eyes wide. Her skin, fair and pinkish in sunlight, looked pale and ethereal in moonlight.

Phoenix smacked her arm lightly. "Keep moving. We don't want to get left behind," he hissed. He forced himself to remain calm, even as his heart began speeding up.

Ella brought her lips together in a smile, turned and moved down the trail. Phoenix's nerves were already shot by being in the forest at night, moving down the same trail where he had been stared down by a schizophrenic hallucination, and the girls' antics weren't helping.

Something grazed the top of his head, and Phoenix ducked, trying to get his hair away from the grasping fingers from above. He whirled around into a defensive posture, and saw Rachel's smirk and outstretched hand. He stood, shaking his head as she burst into a fit of barely-smothered giggles.

"Not funny," he told her. He turned back, and Ella was no longer on the trail in front of him. He froze for a moment, his heart skipping a beat and then thudding louder than ever. He drew in a shallow, quivering breath as his eyes darted around, searching the shadows of the hanging branches and low ferns for something that looked like her. "Ella?" he called, hating the way his voice trembled.

Rachel's voice came out in an attempt at worry. "Where'd she go? I don't see her!" It was obvious she was lying, and enjoying herself, too. Phoenix gritted his teeth. He supposed he just had to prove to them he wasn't afraid of whatever ghosts his mind made up, or else they would never stop teasing him.

He glanced around, and caught a glimpse of Ella's white shirt through the trees. With a deep breath, Phoenix stepped off the trail, leaving Rachel behind.

"Ella, I know you're over there," he said, trying to use his own voice to convince himself it was okay. He stumbled a little over a fern, but managed to keep his balance as he trudged through the underbrush and towards the spot he knew she was crouching.

The air was getting cold, and Phoenix was beginning to hate the way the hanging vines felt as if they were intentionally holding him back. He shook his head, telling himself it was all his psychological perceptions. Of course the roots were not purposefully ensnaring his feet. Of course the branches were not deliberately sliding across his shoulders like a friend trying to tell him to turn back. Of course the rustling leaves did not sound like they were whispering and coaxing him forward.

Phoenix stumbled around a tree, his fists clenched to keep his false courage contained, prepared to pounce on his crouching friend…but she wasn't there. Phoenix tripped to the ground in surprise as a wave of anxiety washed over him.

He stayed there, his palms pressing down on last year's fallen, decomposing leaves, his knees slowly dampening as they compressed the earth. The leaves whispered to him. He stared at the ground, hoping to catch his breath. The vines curled around his ankles. If he hadn't seen Ella…

"Phoenix!" The call was from somewhere behind him, from the trail, probably, and the voice was Ella's soprano.

Phoenix watched as the backs of his hands slid in and out of focus, his pulse thudding faster and faster in his ears. The silver light of the moon fluttered across the ground as the wind blew through the trees. If he hadn't seen Ella… if she had been closer to the trail the entire time….

Then who…?

Phoenix lifted his eyes, still trying to catch his breath, which was now ragged with fear. A pale, silver shadow stood before him, the tips of his white boots peeking out from under the white gown only a few meters away.

Phoenix pushed himself backwards instinctively, and he sat heavily on the ground, his back catching in a bush. Its branches seemed to hold him fast, and the figure stared down at him with inhuman eyes. They were the eyes of a demon... the very devil himself… and they were seeking out Phoenix for some dark, evil purpose….

No! Phoenix struggled to get his feet under him, to regain his balance and his rational mind. This… this image was nothing more than dopamine over-activity, nothing more than the product of a dysfunctional brain. This wasn't real. That man… ghosts didn't exist.

Phoenix rose to his feet, trembling, and leaning heavily against a tree. The man—the figment of his imagination—watched him with a melancholy smile. The red eyes on his finely detailed coat gleamed like dark rubies, matching the color of the V-shaped symbol lodged in his whiteless purple eyes. Phoenix's wide eyes took in the white robe, laced with stripes and buttons and curling veins of gold, which glittered dangerously when the moonlight broke through the leaves of the trees.

The wind blew a draft of icy air under the canopy, and Phoenix heard another call on its chill fingers.

"Phoenix!"

He took a slow step backwards, watching the man, watching the tree directly behind him that was faintly visible. He had to get back to Rachel and Ella. He had to get away from this nighttime vision.

The ghost watched him back, and then closed his eyes as something dark appeared at the corner of his eye. The moonlight fell through the trees again, illuminating his ivory cheeks, and the single, glistening tear as it broke free from his long, black lashes.

The tear fell sideways.

"Phoenix!" came the call a third time, and this time he heeded it. He forcefully turned his back on the hallucination, as though by doing so he could prove he wasn't afraid of it, and leaped and crashed through the bushes back towards the voices of the girls.

They looked worried as he panted to a halt on the trail, shaking his head as he moved past them down the trail, towards the waiting jeeps. He had to get himself under control. He had to stop feeling like he was literally losing his mind. He couldn't stop to talk to them until he got his own breathing under control, until his thoughts started making sense again, until his hands stopped trembling, and until he figured out why, why had the tear fallen _sideways?_

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 8****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

Phoenix was tired. He had stayed up late the night before, trying to get in touch with his psychiatrist. When he had finally reached her, he recounted his recent problems as she drank a cup of fresh coffee. (It was very early in the morning in Galileo.) His psychiatrist had initially suggested that he try a double dose of Dopaizin, but, since double-dosing had its own risks, and she wasn't there to run tests on him, she had suggested he try going without medication for a week, and see if the symptoms went away. It could be that his own system had adjusted into a normal, healthy brain, and the Dopaizin was now unnecessary.

So, for the first time in five years, Phoenix had left his case of white pills behind when he went to breakfast. He hoped his hallucinations didn't get worse, but he had to admit that he had still felt the same as ever when he had stepped off the _Marterra_ and climbed into a jeep. He had felt perfectly normal when his group was assigned duties in other areas of the graveyard, and had eaten lunch in a timely and ordinary fashion. As far as Phoenix could tell, his psychiatrist's plan was working exactly as they had hoped, even when he went into geek-land when Dr. Trin asked them to go work in Zero's tomb.

Rachel waved the hologramic camera around in the tomb, letting the broad fan of light sweep across the walls. Ella held another, and was waving it about aimlessly on the other side of the room. Phoenix had his own pointed at the ceiling.

"So… what, are we making a movie here?" Rachel asked with a sigh, moving around as if she were looking for a place to sit. Other than the edge of Zero's grave, there wasn't one. She rolled her eyes as she swung the camera with a tired arm.

Phoenix shook his head, glancing over to her as he spun his own line of light across the painted ceiling. "Once we get hologramic footage, we can upload it and other researchers can help analyze the tomb." The thin, bright line swept across the faces of Zero's painted companions, the young women that Dr. Trin had hypothesized to be leaders of the Super United Nations and the Federation of China. "And we might as well do it now, before we move too much else," Phoenix finished with a sigh, swinging the camera down so the lights zipped down a column.

"But I thought we were doing it now because we have nothing else to do," Ella complained. She pursed her lips and pointed her camera at the floor.

"Yeah, well, that too…" Phoenix said heavily. He had been depressed to hear that Dr. Trin had come up against some opposition when she contacted the Historical Ethics Committee. Apparently, the debates had become interesting when Zero's identity was at stake.

Dr. Trin and Professor Pailey had asked the Committee about removing Zero's mask and trying to get a DNA sample from the dead man. But until the Committee gave them an answer, there was to be no touching Zero's remains. In fact, the Committee had even chastised the research team for opening the tomb in the first place. In Phoenix's opinion, the Committee was being unnecessarily frumpy. Most people didn't care enough about Zero to care whether he'd been dug up or not. And the people who _did_ care wanted to know who he had been. But the Committee insisted on doing some research and asking some questions in different places before giving the research team the green light.

Phoenix sighed, and looked at Zero's gleaming helmet from the corner of his eye. Ever since his strange panic attack and memory-loss the day before, he had been careful not to look at the corpse too closely, but he still wondered about the man's identity. He knew that given the technology that had been available in Zero's day, chances were they wouldn't find much information on who he had been, but at the very least, they could find out once and for all if Zero was Japanese or not.

Phoenix leaned against the wall with a heavy sigh, drawing looks from his companions. His secret hope, of course, was to discover if he was actually related to Zero, or if his family had made that part up. But he was still curious about who Zero had been… what kind of person had lived behind that mask?

He swung the hologramic camera around some more, making sure he got every centimeter of the ceiling from nearly every angle and getting lost in his own thoughts.

Phoenix knew all the theories about Zero's identity. Unlike the general public, Phoenix was part of a small group of well-educated historians who believed that there had been at least two Zeroes, if not three. Phoenix had seen the old video footage of Zero before the Black Knights proclaimed his death, and his speeches from after he reappeared to take down Lelouch the Devil. He believed that the two Zeroes were different, based on the way they moved and a certain quality in their voices when they gave speeches.

For example, the first Zero had been slightly more dramatic, and a better speaker. In Pailey's terms, the first Zero had been "a true instigator". He had been the one to form the Black Knights and instill them with a sense of purpose and justice. The second Zero, however, had been the peacetime Zero (except for Lelouch's assassination, of course). He had been less eloquent than his predecessor, but had made up for it with a sort of honesty and integrity that the first one had lacked.

Phoenix found the most obvious example of their differences to be the actual assassination of Lelouch. There was a short video clip of Black Knights surveillance that showed Zero running down a hallway. Phoenix had contrasted this clip with Zero running up to assassinate Lelouch, and had decided that the two had to be different.

But this knowledge only made discovering Zero's true identity harder. One vaguely popular idea was that Zero was in fact Prince Clovis, who Zero had claimed to assassinate. What better way to hide than faking your own death and claiming credit for it, proponents of the idea asked. Whenever anyone asked, Phoenix told them that Clovis had been taller than Zero. It was physically impossible, unless he had decided to chop off his feet.

A more popular idea was that Zero was Takahiro Miyamoto, a man who had been on the verge of entering Japanese politics when Britannia invaded. He had been in his last year at an army academy, and was apparently a brilliant strategist. Most of his family had been killed in the invasion, and few living members of his family never heard from him after a cryptic message from him about joining a group to fight for freedom. Miyamoto-san had also lived near the Kururugi house as a child, and had probably had a chance to meet Nunnally the Gentle when she was a little girl, which would have made their decision to work together to bring peace easier.

But that only explained one Zero. One of Phoenix's favorite theories put Zero as Kallen Kozuki's older brother, who was announced as dead just before Zero made his debut. Naoto Kozuki had been the leader of the small group that had become the foundation of the Black Knights before Zero, and it would have been difficult for someone unfamiliar with a group to become its leader. Kallen herself had probably known all along, and had undoubtedly urged the others to accept Zero as their "new" leader.

A loud gong echoed throughout the camp, reverberating into Zero's burial chamber and startling Phoenix out of his musings. It signaled the end of the work day. He looked back and forth between Rachel and Ella.

"Finally," Rachel said, heaving a huge sigh. "I thought we might have to stay out here all night…." She switched off her hologramic camera and rolled her shoulders.

Ella and Phoenix followed suit, the three of them picking up Kevin and Hazel at the entrance as they all made their way back down to the cemetery proper. The sun was just dipping behind the western horizon, plunging the entire hillside into an orange-gold bath of light. The leaves seemed to be glowing, and for once, the unreal greenness of the terrain vanished, and the air had the same color as the Martian kind.

But by the time they actually reached the research tent and the groups of students, the sun had nearly vanished, and only the sky was lit up, the few clouds burning orange and trailing into pink.

"Good work all," Pailey said, clapping his hands together. He did a quick head count, and then asked every group to share what they had done that day. Phoenix's group designated Hazel, and after two other groups had rambled about translating a tombstone and clearing brush in the corner of the cemetery, Hazel explained the Committee's issues and then described their hologramic duty. It was nearly forty minutes later when Pailey finally nodded and pointed to the trail. "Jeeps are waiting, gang! Let's get back and get ourselves some dinner!"

Phoenix took a deep breath as he made his way to the trail. It was becoming some kind of reoccurring nightmare, and the horrible part was that he _did_ visit the narrow, shadowed trail in his dreams, where he always encountered the pale, ghostly specter.

Would he see it again tonight? And if he did, what should he do? Should he run? He shook his head, wondering if he could actually stop himself from running away. That figure was _scary_, and Phoenix really hoped it would just go away.

Ella appeared at his shoulder as he stood at the edge of the clearing, contemplating his actions. The hills seemed close and dark, the beautiful pink and orange sky having faded to deep purple, then to midnight black.

"You okay, Phoenix?" Ella asked quietly, looking up at him from his side. Her forehead wrinkled in concern. "You never said what happened last night…." She trailed off, probably hoping that he would fill her in.

Phoenix just shook his head, trying not to tremble. This whole thing was getting pathological! He tried to shake himself out of his fear, using logic and rational thought to start moving his feet down the very normal trail, into the very normal dark, and towards the very normal jeeps. So what if he saw some creepy figure in the forest? He _knew_ his mind was going wonky on him. He _knew_ he and his doctor were working together to cure him. And he had felt fine all day.

Which meant that this was just normal fear, now. And Phoenix… he steeled himself, taking a deep breath and putting one foot in front of the other, marching downhill. Phoenix Zero was no coward.

Not with the blood of an ancient hero coursing through his veins. No, not this one. He was _not_ going to be afraid of some silly hallucination, even if it…

Phoenix stopped in his tracks. The ghost stood on the trail in front of him, paying no attention as yawning and giggling students walked right through it. As usual, it was staring at Phoenix, as if it could see him alone. And only Phoenix alone could see it.

"Keep moving, Zero," Pailey's voice boomed out behind him, and the professor's large hand thumped down on his shoulder. Phoenix jumped, and looked quickly behind him to stare at the man. Pailey hunched over, giving him a closer look. "Something the matter?" he asked gently.

Phoenix began to shake his head, determined to ignore the ghost especially when his favorite advisor was right behind him. He gritted his teeth and turned back around, and the ghost was no longer on the trail.

He sighed in relief, and took another step forward, only to reveal the silvery figure standing closer, on his right, just behind a thick tree. Another tear trickled sideways down the pale cheek, flashing gleaming silver and obsidian black as the starlight waved back and forth across his face. His mouth was moving, slowly, the same word over and over again.

Phoenix took another deep breath. Maybe the key was to overcome his fear. If all of it was his mind playing with him, then he simply had to get the best of it. He had to win against his subconscious. He had to find out what the figure was saying.

Phoenix took a step off the trail, ignoring Pailey's sudden protests. He had forgotten the professor was there, and he decided to ignore the man, moving towards the now all-too-familiar figure as it stood there, gently and silently crying. Its inhuman eyes watched him and then, suddenly, turned away.

Understanding washed over Phoenix as he saw the back of the figure's head for the first time. The tear had fallen sideways because everything about this ghost was sideways. Gravity affected the ghost in a horizontal rather than vertical direction. When the ghost had turned his head, Phoenix had seen the hat unflatten, as if the man were actually pressed flat against a solid surface directly behind him. All of the man's clothes were pressed against his body as if gravity were pushing them sideways from the front, and then held flat against an invisible wall. Phoenix took a step closer, no longer terrified as his curiosity got the best of him.

But why would Phoenix's mind create a character that had gravity affect him in a different way? And what would his clothes look like if they hung on him normally?

Phoenix stared at the man, feeling as if some screw was being put into place, some mental cog was slowly beginning to turn….

"Zero! What are you doing? Get back on the trail and let's head back!" Phoenix turned back at the sound of Pailey's voice, and he stared at the large man standing on the ever-darkening trail.

Phoenix opened his mouth to respond, and then looked back towards the ghost, trying to recall his train of thought. But the ghost had moved.

For some reason, it was further away, and it was no longer crying. Instead, it looked hopeful. It mouthed a word Phoenix couldn't hear, and couldn't lip-read from so far away.

"Just a second!" Phoenix called back before following the ghost through the overhanging vines and thick underbrush. Everything was shadows, inky holes, and overgrown vines of black ivy. He pushed past a tree, snapping one of its branches, and sucked in a breath as he approached the figure.

Behind him, he could hear Pailey cursing and staggering through the bushes after him.

The disturbing eyes stared at him, and Phoenix felt as if he nearly remembered the ghost's face… as if he could almost place it…. He _knew_ he had seen if before somewhere, in some old video, back on Mars, when he had been studying the Golden Age….

"Zero!" Pailey yelled angrily, only a few meters away.

And as the ghost blinked and concentrated, looking thoughtful yet slightly afraid, it all clicked together.

In front of him was the Devil of Britannia, Lelouch.

But… why?

Phoenix turned to face Pailey, who looked red in the face, even in the dim light from the stars and the slim Luna. Phoenix wasn't sure what kind of expression he was giving the man, but judging by the way the man hesitated and stared, it was undoubtedly not the one his advisor was expecting.

Phoenix turned back around, and Lelouch had moved further into the trees, away from Phoenix and Pailey. Could it be that he didn't want the professor around? Phoenix stepped over a fallen tree trunk and clambered through the bushes towards the ghost once more.

"Oh, Zero, come on, please at least tell me what you're doing," Pailey said wearily, though his voice held a strange undercurrent of worry that Phoenix had never heard before.

Phoenix shook his head as he ducked a branch and stumbled forward into a tiny, moonlit clearing. The grass was a tall, silvery-gray. Lelouch stood on the far side, his eyes closed serenely, as he crossed his arms over his chest, posing like the dead. Phoenix felt goosebumps ripple across his arms.

Lelouch's mouth opened, and he spoke three silent syllables. Phoenix leaned forward, staring, hoping he could figure out what the man had just said.

Pailey entered the clearing accompanied by the cracking of a branch, and Phoenix could see him turn towards him angrily from the corner of his eye.

"You're really pushing me, Phoenix Zero," he said testily, reaching out for Phoenix's arm.

Not really wanting to be caught, Phoenix took a step forward, just out of reach and towards the silent, waiting ghost.

Without warning the ground collapsed beneath him, sending Phoenix downwards in a pile of grass and earth and old leaves. He struggled, reaching out for something that would stop his descent and found his hands sliding against cold, smooth—too smooth—walls. He came to a rest, staring up out of a squarish hole about four meters above him. The smell of dank earth and the bone-numbing chill of unexplored caves swept over him.

"Zero! Zero, are you alright?!" Pailey's anxious voice called down to him, and a portion of the stars were blotted out by a head leaning over the edge.

Phoenix blinked and looked around. "I think so," he called back. But just what had he gotten himself into? He was covered in damp dirt, though thankfully he had fallen on most of it. He rolled over and stood carefully, placing a hand against the wall to steady himself on the lose soil. The wall was chilly, dirty, and yes, it was indeed too smooth to belong to a natural cave. He brushed away some of the dirt and caught the reflection of starlight on it. It was… polished stone?

"We need to find a way to get you out of there," Pailey muttered. "And I don't think I can reach you from here." Phoenix looked up as Pailey reached an arm down into the shaft Phoenix had fallen into. "Serves you right for wandering off like that, though," Pailey continued, and Phoenix was sure he was getting a hard stare, though it was too dark to see what face the professor was making at him.

"But what _is_ this place?" Phoenix wondered aloud. He brushed more dirt off the walls, and then looked behind him when he felt a strange draft. He hadn't just fallen into a hole… but he had fallen into some kind of _tunnel_. Or at least, a one-sided tunnel. He peered into the darkness, hoping that his eyes would adjust and let him see better.

What was down there?

"I don't know, Phoenix, it's probably just the basement to an old house or storage building." Pailey paused before grumbling on. "Look, I'm going to give the rest of the group a call and let them know you've run into trouble. We'll have a float unit out here to lift you out in no time."

"Okay," Phoenix said, though he really hadn't been paying attention. Still trailing a hand along the wall, he moved towards the yawning black opening. Clods of dirt collected in his shoes as he stepped through the thick pile of newly-fallen earth, and then his foot suddenly tapped onto a harder surface.

It echoed.

Phoenix peered into the darkness, willing his pupils to dilate. If only he had some kind of light… wait, he _did_ have a light. Phoenix shoved a dirty hand into his pocket and retrieved his PD. He powered it up with a touch, and set it to full illumination, blinding himself momentarily and lighting up a small portion of the tunnel.

At the end was Lelouch vi Britannia, standing in that same pose of the eternally sleeping, his lips moving without sound. Phoenix swallowed.

But if he couldn't force his feet to take him down the tunnel, towards Lelouch, he would forever regret it for the rest of his life. Phoenix _had_ to face his fears, to prove to himself that he was brave, that he was worthy of the name Pailey called him.

But if he _could_ make himself take those steps, to follow the Devil of Britannia… would he end up regretting that action even more?

"Zero? Where'd you go?" Pailey's voice echoed down the tunnel, and Phoenix realized with a sigh that Pailey was probably right. This was probably just a basement to some old gardening shed by the Imperial Palace. Which meant… there was nothing to be afraid of, right?

"I'll be right back," Phoenix said, determination coursing through him. He would find whatever was at the end of this tunnel, Lelouch be damned. And if Pailey wanted to stop him, well, his professor could just climb down the tunnel himself. Phoenix had followed his frightening, subconscious guide long enough, and it was time to see what this was all about.

He marched towards Lelouch, holding his bright PD out in front, taking deep breaths of the cold, stale air. His footsteps echoed on the black stone, until suddenly, the walls on either side dropped away, and the room opened up into a larger chamber, much like how Zero's tomb did. This room, though, was smaller, but it also had mirrors placed around it, which now reflected the light from Phoenix's PD, turning the room much brighter than one might have anticipated.

Lelouch stood in the center of the square room, deathly still. Phoenix took in a shaky breath, and turned his attention to the rest of the room, noting the cobwebs on the candelabras and streaks on the mirrors and then… directly in front of him, hanging up on the wall, was a long, beautiful sword. Its edges looked rusted and the hilt was peeling, but Phoenix recognized it for what it was.

Lelouch standing in the center of the room probably helped to jog his memory, because it was without a doubt the sword that had killed him.

Without warning, Lelouch suddenly moved. Phoenix took a frightened step back, and stared in horror, holding his breath as the ghostly Devil of Britannia slowly sank into the floor. The ghost remained motionless as he slowly slipped from the world above ground, to that below.

A few moments after Lelouch disappeared, Phoenix exhaled slowly, raising the PD above the floor to make sure the ghost was gone.

The light only made the large, rectangular slab of black stone in the floor that much more obvious.

This wasn't just a basement. This wasn't just a storage shed for ancient swords. This was a _grave._ And Phoenix knew whose grave it was.

Lelouch vi Britannia had just led him to it.

Very suddenly, Phoenix Zero _did_ believe in ghosts.

* * *

_Author's Note: As usual, please review! For those of you that are interested, you can now find Phoenix Zero on facebook (under the name Phoenix Zéro). Please let him know in a message when you request to be his friend that you are a reader. (Don't worry, your information will not be shared with anyone, not that Phoenix has anyone to share it with.)  
_


	3. Chapter Three

**From the Ashes**

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 9****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

* * *

Phoenix knew that if he chickened out now, before he even got started, he would regret it more than anything an insubstantial ghost could do. Even if it were the ghost of a man that had taken over the world.

Besides, in all rational likelihood, the perceived danger was nothing more than a relatively mild case of schizophrenia. Nothing that couldn't be cured with a few days off the meds. And if Phoenix Zero wanted to be an explorer of the past… then he'd better buck up and just go for it. Like a true adventurer, he would do the looking _after_ he leaped.

It was this thinking that had caused Phoenix to convince Professor Pailey, Rachel, Ella, Kevin, and Hazel to help him explore the old tunnel to Lelouch's grave. Pailey reluctantly brought the float units they had used to lift off Zero's lid, which they used to lower themselves into the subterranean hallway.

"That's a long way to fall," Rachel commented, staring up towards the rim of grass and roots. Phoenix caught a glimpse of the cloud of moist air that exited her lips. It was still morning, and the deep tunnel was chilly. Unlike the dry Martian atmosphere he was used to, the Terran air seemed to cling wetly to his lungs and exposed digits. The hum of the floaters died down as Hazel, the last one into the tunnel, climbed off and stepped onto the layer of dirt and moss and grass.

Ella nudged him in the side with her elbow, and then wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shivering slightly. Rachel rolled her eyes at the display, probably mistaking her lack of warmth as lack of courage. Phoenix watched them for a moment as they had an entire conversation without words. He had decided to only tell Rachel and Ella the real reason he had gone running into the woods. Chasing ghosts and figments of the imagination wasn't a reason he thought the others would regard as reasonable at all.

It made him wonder why _he_ thought all of this was a good idea.

He felt a bubble of excitement in his chest, and remembered why he was here. He was out _discovering_, and even if this was not Lelouch the Devil's grave, there was still the sword that killed him. He had told _that_ much to the others, and it was prize enough to get Pailey enthusiastic.

"Come on, let's not dawdle in the doorway," Pailey said loudly, as if reading Phoenix's mind. He looked over at his student with a wide smile. "I want to see this sword you mentioned."

Phoenix nodded, feeling the edge of his excitement freeze into fear as he took the lead. It felt like the damp walls were pressing in on his enthusiasm and the chill of the floor was soaking up into his legs. But he couldn't turn back now, not after convincing Pailey it was worth it, not after getting everyone into the tunnel that turned darker and darker with every step, not after following Lelouch's ghost in the first place. But it was still difficult to force his feet to keep moving forward. Behind him, Hazel suddenly turned her lantern on, and the bouncing light cast his uneven, wavering shadow in front of him. As the others turned theirs on, the light only became more and more scattered, more prone to showing quick-footed, shadowy creatures of the imagination, as if the light chose to deceive rather than illuminate.

No one spoke, and the sound of their shoes on the hard floor and the whispering of their breath from between their lips were the only additions to the wavering light and deep chill. All too soon, their echoing footsteps bounced off the mirrored walls and their lights crossed the small room they had come for, reflecting their own images back at them like ancient, silent wraiths.

The sword hung on the far wall, gleaming underneath a millennium of dust. The broad golden hilt still fanned out magnificently into a guard, and then flowed into a long, pinkish blade, embedded with jewels. Cobwebs tangled thick around rusting candelabras on the walls, giving Phoenix the feeling that they were all disturbing what shouldn't be disturbed. Pailey made an appreciative grunt as he moved immediately to the far wall and leaned towards the great broadsword, examining it closely with a raised lantern. Hazel and Kevin stuck close together, setting their lantern on one end of the room and then peering up at a candelabra. Rachel walked past, dragging Ella in one hand and her lantern in the other.

As she passed him, Ella nudged him in the ribs and smiled. Apparently, she thought it was a great discovery.

Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief. The apparition, the ghost of Lelouch, was nowhere to be seen. He had been worried that if the silent, crying specter were present, he would have been unable to focus. He probably would have been unable to remain standing still, or keep from either running towards it or running away. The others in the room would have known then.

But what exactly would they have known? That he was crazy? That he was somehow connected to the netherworld? He shook his head slightly, suppressing a shiver. He didn't know, and neither answer was particularly appealing.

A small _ping_ echoed throughout the room, and Phoenix snapped his mind into the present, catching Pailey's outstretched finger next to the sword. The man had flicked it slightly, producing the sound that was still ringing faintly. Hazel had jumped and was breathing a sigh of relief onto Kevin's shoulder. He was smiling. On the other side of the room, Rachel and Ella were poking at some kind of inscription on the wall.

He had to admit, it _was_ a good find. Though it was dark and damp and had been uncovered only due to the directions of a long-dead man. The rectangular black marble was directly in front of him, still coffin-sized and waiting. If Phoenix were going to take the plunge he knew he needed to take, then he'd better do it before everyone else was too absorbed in the rest of the room.

_It's now or never, Phoenix,_ he told himself, taking a deep breath. He looked down at the floor, to the thick black slab of marble where he knew—though how could he possibly _know_—Lelouch lay buried.

"I don't think we'll need a floater to lift this, let alone _two_…" Pailey began uncertainly, lifting a finger to trace the dust along the pink and gold blade.

"Actually, Professor…" Phoenix said, his voice wavering. He thrust his arm out, and pointed to the floor, hoping the action would steady him.

Pailey turned around, his expression again one of concern. Phoenix took another deep breath.

"Actually, I think someone's buried here." He shook his finger purposefully, to keep the rest of them from seeing the tremble that coursed through him. There was no turning back now. "Right under that black stone."

Pailey paused, looked down, and then slowly lifted his gaze back to meet Phoenix's eyes. The professor looked troubled, and a little confused. "Why wouldn't you say so in the first place, Zero?"

There was a long and uncomfortable silence that followed as Phoenix tried to think up an appropriate response. Hazel started muttering something quietly to Kevin, and the other girls tried to look interested in the mirrored walls and old, dusty cobwebs, and not as if they were eavesdropping as Phoenix was more or less accused of lying to a teacher.

Phoenix could hear the real question hidden in Pailey's words, though. It wasn't "why wouldn't you say so", but "why don't you trust me anymore?" Phoenix wasn't sure why, either, and that troubled him. Since when had his favorite adviser become nothing more than a resource for floaters? Since when had Phoenix turned into the sort of person that kept secrets at all? He felt an icy chill as his mind brought him the answer: since he had first seen Lelouch.

When he took too long to answer, Pailey just went on, his voice hinting at an underlying anger and frustration. "You've been acting strange lately, Zero. You can't deny it, not after last night. I know how much all of this means to you, but perhaps you should—"

"Can we just open it?" Phoenix asked suddenly, surprising even himself. He flushed red at being so abrupt. "I… I just was to see if I'm right…." He swallowed, wondering if he'd feel better once he saw the evil emperor's rotted body. If he could be sure that Lelouch was firmly dead and gone, he'd feel better, right? He'd be able to explain everything to Pailey, right?

But he suddenly remembered how it had felt to stare down at Zero's remains. Phoenix shivered, thrusting the thought away.

"Well," Pailey said with a heavy sigh. He was looking down at the space of floor where Phoenix was pointing. "It looks like you might be right about someone being buried here, at any rate." He paused, as if he wanted to say more, but then shook his head. "Let's get the floaters attached."

Rachel and Ella grabbed one unit, attaching it to the surface and waiting for the suction light to turn green. Pailey stepped directly in front of Phoenix and then crouched down to attach the next float unit.

Both lights flashed green.

"This is your show," Pailey told him, turning around as he stood and holding out the floater controls. Phoenix held his hands out as soon as he understood what Pailey was trying to give him, and the man dropped the controls into his palm as if he wanted nothing more than to be rid of them.

Phoenix faced the black lid, trying to put his questions about himself and his professor out of his mind. He could see the green lights reflected on the blade of Zero's sword, flashing in time with his pounding heart.

It was as if someone else were moving his body now. Phoenix was terrified that he was actually going through with it all, and yet… he couldn't—he wouldn't—stop. To stop would mean he was a coward. It would mean he wasn't worthy of studying all the courageous people he studied.

If he couldn't face Lelouch, with that sword gleaming next to him, it would mean he wasn't worthy of the history he cherished, or the name that was precious to him. It would mean he wasn't worthy of being called Zero.

He clicked the floaters on.

The green glow filled the room, along with a low hum. The black marble shook as if echoing and returning the hum, and then suddenly pulled free, lifting higher as a cascade of dust billowed into the air like a great mushroom cloud.

Phoenix couldn't take his eyes off the dark pit in the center of the room. He could see only the cloud of dust as it slowly sank into the abyss. His fingers guided the floaters to the side of the room, automatically moving over the controls. His eyes were still pinned to the dusty, black grave. Someone began coughing in a raspy, sickly voice.

Phoenix's eyes widened suddenly as his nightmare breathed to life.

A slender, pale hand reached upwards from the black hole, grasping the lip of the floor.

Phoenix felt the floater controls fall from his grasp as Hazel began screaming. Rachel and Ella flattened themselves against the wall as Kevin followed Hazel towards the exit. The lid to the tomb faltered as the controls clattered across the floor, and then the entire floater-lid combination fell to the floor with a crash, extinguishing the eerie green glow and flattening one of the lanterns. Pailey jumped into Rachel to avoid being crushed, and both of them fell to the floor.

A second pale hand appeared from the gloom, settling beside the first. The dust swirled around the hands, settling slowly. Out of the corner of his eye, Phoenix saw Pailey grab Rachel and begin pulling her to the exit, following Kevin and the still-shrieking Hazel. The knuckles on the pale hand stood out as it gripped the lip of the grave tightly. Rachel fought Pailey's strong arms, reaching for Ella, who flung a hand out and shouted.

"Phoenix!"

He turned back suddenly, and saw the entire scene, in slow motion with the sound eerily muted. The dust clouding the dim light around the exit, Hazel and Kevin's retreating backs. The slow echoes of feet pattering across the floor. Pailey's white face and strong grip on Rachel's arm. Ella's desperate, pleading look, her hand outstretched….

Phoenix was as if in a dream, as if tugged gently by the invisible puppet strings of Fate.

Slowly, Phoenix Zero turned back to the grave…

…And the Devil of Britannia rose out of it.

It seemed as if time had not changed him at all. He was exactly as Phoenix's visions had made him out to be… the same man, unchanged since the rise of Britannia and his dominion of the world.

Lelouch had a delicate, pale face, the slope of his cheek smooth, and his lips a thin pink line. His black hair lay across his brow in long, slender locks. He was thin, clothed in layer upon layers of white and gold. A small hat lay on the top of his head, folded and creased along the sides and edges. The dust swirled around him majestically as he gained his footing, and then he looked up to meet Phoenix's eyes squarely.

His eyes were a deep purple, without pupils, and carrying a strange red design. And if Phoenix wasn't mistaken, his eyes also held surprise.

It was then that Lelouch suddenly became real. He wasn't just an imaginary ghost, but he was still… a person. Phoenix noticed the dusty tear streaks down the man's cheeks, the dust in his black hair, and the frayed edges of his faded clothes. A ruby fell from an old thread, bounced on the marble floor with a clink, and dropped back into the grave. Lelouch took a deep breath, and then coughed, expelling dust from his lungs and tears from his watery eyes. As the former emperor doubled over and coughed dust towards the floor, his small, limp hat fell from his head.

This… this wasn't scary, Phoenix realized. This was… pathetic.

Lelouch stood straight a moment later, watching Phoenix carefully. His eyes were creepy, to be sure, but Phoenix could tell that this man was only a shadow of his former tyrannical self. Even if he was risen from the grave, he still looked incredibly weak and wobbly. More than anything else, Lelouch seemed terribly fragile. His sleeve had torn gently free when he had stood, baring his pale upper arm. Another ruby fell, sliding a short distance along the floor. Lelouch looked away, and opened his mouth.

It looked as if he had tried to speak, but no words came out. Only a hiss of air, and then Lelouch bent over again, coughing. Phoenix waited. A small part of him wondered if the man were capable of speaking, and if he were… what sort of hellish language might issue from his lips.

Lelouch's right sleeve slid down further, and he shook free of it lamely. For a zombie, he looked… weak. With a sudden movement, Lelouch stood up and shrugged free of a layer of white, letting it fall to the floor as a cloud of dust and dried thread lifted into the air. His clothing was…old. It was fraying and falling apart while it was still hung on his thin figure.

The former emperor kept his gaze focused on some part of the wall, leaving his creepy eyes off of Phoenix. He took a slow, deep breath, and then his voice finally came out in a wheeze. "Who are you?"

"Phoenix Z… er, I'm Phoenix." He was fairly certain he did not want the newly-risen undead man to guess he was a descendent of the one who had put him in his grave. "You're Lelouch, aren't you." Phoenix tried to keep the wavering edge out of his voice, but wasn't sure if he succeeded.

Lelouch nodded slowly. "Why have you released me?" he asked, still refusing to look at the person he was speaking to. But there was something in his voice, something other than the raspy dry throat and the tongue slowed by disuse. There was something like uncertainty, or some kind of sorrow.

"Released you?" Phoenix echoed, blinking slightly. Had Lelouch been supernaturally sealed away? Had Phoenix inadvertently unleashed a curse on the world? He felt himself beginning to take a step back, and then planted his feet more solidly. "For research's sake. For history." As the words resounded out of Phoenix's lungs soundly, he realized their truth. It gave him an odd sort of strength, and appeared to take Lelouch by surprise.

His purply-red eyes darted to Phoenix briefly, and then returned back to the wall. "For research?" It was his turn to echo, though he sounded a little faint. "You dug me up so you could research me? How did you know I was still… alive?" Phoenix could see the small, sad smile on Lelouch's lips as he looked down, raising his palms to meet his gaze.

Phoenix shook his head. "I didn't." He paused a moment, before continuing on bravely. "In fact, I'm still not sure that you are. People… don't live that long."

Again, Lelouch's eerie gaze flashed towards him, lingering for a moment, and then moving back towards the wall when he opened his mouth to speak. "How long?"

Phoenix's mind suddenly reeled. Lelouch had no concept of how long he had been entombed? When had he come alive again, if he really was alive? Or had he been alive the entire time? He glanced towards the black pit in the center of the room, the grave Lelouch had crawled out of. It had been… a long time since Lelouch had been put in there.

He began hesitantly, watching the other man carefully. "It's been… 1,529 years… since your… death." The pause before the last word was the longest, as Phoenix wasn't sure if it was the right word. But what did it mean exactly if Lelouch were alive? What did it mean if he were actually dead? Undead?

Had the so-called Devil of Britannia made, as the superstitious said, some kind of pact with the actual Devil? One that could have possibly granted him world domination and eternal life? In exchange for something a bloodthirsty ruler of the world wouldn't need, like his soul? Phoenix felt his knees tremble and his breath catch tightly in his lungs.

Lelouch was still for a long time, as if purposefully letting Phoenix's imagination run wild and loose, spiraling down into ever-darkening circles. What had Phoenix been thinking? To wake something like this from his eternal prison!

"That long…." Lelouch's wistful voice cut through his thoughts, echoing softly in the small room. Again, Phoenix heard the melancholy note in his voice, the tragic air that slid from between his lips. He forced himself not to focus on it, fearing it could be some kind of sorcerer's trap. He must not pity Lelouch, must not show him any mercy, or sign of weakness, for surely the man would take advantage of it.

"What will you do with me now?" Lelouch slowly turned his eerie eyes to Phoenix as the echoes of his words faded into silence.

Phoenix swallowed. What _would_ he do? Why had he even thought there was something that should be done to this cursed gravesite? What had prompted him, nothing more than a geeky college student, to seek out the ghost, to follow him, and then to open the tomb? What ridiculous impulse had made Phoenix come to the Royal Britannian Cemetery in the first place?

And suddenly, the answer blossomed before him. It was the quest he had undertaken, the rush of Destiny that had swept him up the precise instant he had stepped foot onto the darkened trail and seen Lelouch's ghost, no, it had been before that—and it hadn't been as precise as he had thought. His quest, his path had opened up before him, catching him up in its swirling threads of Fate when he had climbed the hillside to Zero's tomb. It had wrapped around him so securely then, had been pushing him forwards with gathering momentum ever since that morning….

It was a quest for knowledge. For the truth.

The truth of the Britannian Empire that had perished long ago, that had risen to prominence even before that. The truth about the man known as Zero, his army, his allies….

Phoenix met Lelouch's eyes squarely, his green orbs flashing with brilliant determination.

…And his enemies.

Phoenix smiled. He wasn't sure how difficult it would be, but undoubtedly there would be obstacles. Lelouch himself was bound to be one of them, but he was undeniably Phoenix's greatest resource as well. He was a living artifact, and far more precious than any ancient book or long-forgotten hard drive. Lelouch had once held the world in his hands, and although he had apparently died for it, he still held the one thing that no one else in the solar system had.

Memories.

Lelouch held memories—primary source _memories_—of the era when Zero's Black Knights rose to power, of who was who among Britannia's Royal Family. He alone knew the key to taking over the Empire, and he alone understood his motivations, his desires, his ambitions, and his schemes. In fact, only Zero himself would have been more suitable for the task that lay before Phoenix.

Lelouch's unanswered question echoed through his mind. _What will you do with me now?_

"I will use you, as a guide. Towards the truth." His resolve was firm, and his words rang with conviction.

Lelouch's eyes opened wide in surprise, and he seemed to be reevaluating the young man in front of him. He nodded slowly, first keeping his strange eyes closed, and then keeping them on the floor. As if he were addressing Phoenix as a sort of prince or emperor, he tilted his head slightly towards the floor, giving Phoenix the impression it was a small, respectful bow. "Thank you."

Phoenix wasn't quite sure what to make of the words Lelouch had given him, nor the smile and relief that showed clearly on the man's face. He nodded at Lelouch, feeling as if he should make some kind of sign or gesture, which would cement their… what, their contract? Their agreement to work together towards the truth? Was Lelouch even interested in offering the truth to him? Would he instead jealously guard his knowledge of the bygone world?

Phoenix took a deep breath, and held out his hand towards the former emperor, his arm feeling foreign yet at the same time relaxed. "Lelouch vi Britannia, in exchange for freeing you from your grave, promise that you will give me the history of your era."

The hand that was placed in his was, to his surprise, warm and smooth. Lelouch looked away again as he spoke. "You have my promise."

Suddenly, Phoenix heard voices from the entrance to the tunnel. He dropped Lelouch's hand and turned as the footsteps rushed closer, as if suddenly remembering himself. A shadow appeared in the tunnel, blotting out much of dim, morning light that filtered through from the surface.

"Phoenix!" Pailey's booming voice crashed into the small room as the man himself appeared in the entryway. It seemed as if Pailey were suddenly pulling himself to his full, considerable height as he glared over Phoenix's head at Lelouch. He tilted his chin slightly at Phoenix. "You're alright?" he asked gruffly, though it also sounded like a relieved confirmation.

Phoenix nodded. It was a surprise to see his professor return, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was comforting to know that Pailey would brave the undead to rescue him if necessary, even after their awkward and unresolved argument. He smiled at the man, and suddenly felt his lips tug upwards into a smile. There was no one else that he would rather share his discovery with.

He turned slightly, gesturing towards Lelouch, who looked on passively. "Professor, I'd like to introduce you to my new research material."

Pailey looked startled. "You can't be serious. That's… I don't even know _what_ that is!" He grabbed Phoenix's should with one hand, dragging him off balance slightly and away from Lelouch. He stumbled backwards into the large man. "We're probably better off pretending like this never happened."

"But just think about it! Everything there is to know about Britannia!" Phoenix said desperately, staring up into Pailey's blue eyes. "About the Golden Age!" He broke free of his advisor's grasp, and stood in front of him, stretching his arms out wide to illustrate his point. "There's everything to learn from him, Professor! There's a whole world that's inside his head, and it's the same one we're dedicating our lives to studying!"

Pailey shook his head, as if in utter disbelief at Phoenix's words. "This is completely ridiculous, and you know it. He's a dangerous man—we know _that_ much."

"We can get around that! What's a leader without any followers? What's an emperor without a country? He's got none of that! Besides, we've studied his ways. We know what to expect, and how to counteract it!" He looked back at Lelouch, who was still simply watching the exchange, not attempting to add anything.

"Even so…" Pailey began, rubbing the back of his head and looking upwards. Phoenix recognized the movement as one the professor made when he was searching for an answer. "Who says he'll work with us?"

"He does," Phoenix replied with a grin. It felt like Fate was finally working for him, rather than the other way around. Either that, or he had decided to become Fate's entirely willing advocate.

Pailey threw his hands up. "Who says we can let him work with us?"

"_We_ do." At the look of shock on Pailey's face, Phoenix added, "Don't we?"

Pailey shrugged. "It's not as if there's any precedence for this sort of thing." He looked Lelouch up and down, and Phoenix could tell that he was weighing their choices. By the hungry glint in his professor's eyes, he could tell that Pailey was having difficulty finding more reasons to pretend they hadn't found Lelouch. "No one would believe us. How would we even begin to publish anything based on information from him?"

Phoenix shook his head. "That's not the point, is it? I thought study was 'for knowing, not advertising,'" he said, quoting his professor's own words.

"But it's not knowing unless more people know it," Pailey countered absently, still watching Lelouch closely. "You really think we can figure out how to make this work?"

Phoenix looked back at Lelouch, who stood there, the center of the discussion and the focus of their attention. The undead man had said "thank you" before, when Phoenix had told him his intentions. What did that really mean?

"I think we can."

Pailey shook his head, this time smiling. "You know, sometimes I still surprise myself at the stupid things I do… and let _you_ do, too." He took a deep breath and raised himself to his full height, taking a step towards Lelouch. He stiffly held out a hand, and Lelouch stood there, staring at it.

"William Pailey, professor of history," he said, staring down at the thin form before him. Lelouch carefully extended his hand, but only touched Pailey's after sending a purply-red glance to Phoenix.

"Lelouch vi Britannia…." Lelouch's mouth lingered open for a moment as if he intended to give himself a title, but then suddenly closed. In this age, Lelouch had no title.

Other than perhaps something like "important artifact."

* * *

_**U.M.S. Marterra,**_** Columbia Interplanetary Port Harbor, Eastern America, Earth. June 9****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

Hazel eyed the Phoenix's door apprehensively, her brow wrinkled and her hands twisted into Kevin's. The tall boy also looked nervous, but the effect was lessened because he seemed to be slightly annoyed by his girlfriend's constant anxiety and her attempts to sit on top of him.

Pailey was pacing by the hallway to the circular common room, though it was with excitement rather than fear. Ella passed him carefully as she returned from the bathroom, looking relieved that she hadn't missed anything.

On the couch next to Phoenix, Rachel was sitting perfectly still. It was obvious she was not okay with the current situation, but… rules were rules, and Pailey had explained it all very well, and made it sound reasonable. Logical, in fact, that Lelouch, who was living over 1500 years after his birth, was going to be staying with them aboard the _Marterra_. Furthermore, Pailey had explained to the five students present that it was imperative that none of them reveal the former emperor's true identity.

It could, after all, have disastrous consequences. Not just for Pailey and Phoenix's research, either.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed. The hiss of Phoenix's door sliding open caught Pailey's attention and arrested his pacing. Hazel climbed nearly into Kevin's lap, and Rachel twitched. Phoenix sat up straighter, looking towards the door.

Lelouch stepped out of the room, and to Phoenix's profound surprise, he looked _normal._

Instead of his fraying white rags dotted with rubies, Lelouch wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a sleeveless charcoal gray zip-up hoodie. Even without any shoes or socks, he blended into the environment naturally, looking for all the world like a Galilean freshman or sophomore. And all it took was some of Phoenix's clothes?

In fact, he could even agree with Rachel's small exhale of breath. Lelouch looked better than normal. He looked _good_.

Pailey nodded as he approached Lelouch. He gave the ex-emperor a quick once-over with his eyes, approving. "Good." He turned to Phoenix, who was already getting up off the couch and looking at Lelouch seriously.

"Well, I guess you can fit in if we make you. But do play boson* about your identity. Otherwise…" Phoenix grimaced, even as Lelouch blinked. "You're our secret, and we plan on keeping you that way." He watched his precious artifact carefully, making sure his point hit home. He also wanted to make sure that if Lelouch had any intention of betraying the research team or trying to take over the world, he would be able to nip such actions in the bud. Seeing nothing but a complacent nod and a blank face, Phoenix sighed and faced Pailey as the professor addressed the rest of the students.

"If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to come talk to me before dinner at my cabin area. You won't be heading back out to the dig site today, so just take the afternoon off and relax." Seeing that everyone was nodding, Pailey turned to go.

As he was exiting the hallway, and the Hazel-Kevin duo was retreating to a room, Pailey turned back to face Lelouch and Phoenix. His eyes landed directly on Phoenix, and he said, "Be careful." His gaze shifted to Lelouch, and his expression hardened. "I'm sure I can make even you regret your actions. So do as you're told."

Phoenix blinked. It was probably the first threat he had ever heard from his professor, and still he had complete faith that the large man now retreating down the hallway could follow through. He turned back to Lelouch, who was standing as passively as he had been since Phoenix had been given the man's promise.

He felt suddenly awkward. Here was the former ruler of the world, stripped of his power and prepared to be used as nothing more than a database. But at the same time… Lelouch was… a _guy_, right? A not-exactly-average dude, but a dude nonetheless. How should he address the boy who…. Now that he thought about the facts, that Lelouch had ascended power at a young age, at _nineteen_ to be exact… they were the same age.

Then again, Lelouch had turned nineteen over a thousand years ago. So it was pretty much a completely different story. Right?

"So, you used to rule the world?" Ella's voice slipped into the air between them, and Lelouch turned to face the girl. Phoenix watched as the other man's—the other _boy's?_— forehead twitched and he nodded, his expression turning grave.

"Why?" Ella asked, and Phoenix inwardly praised her simplicity and directness. _That_, judging by the glance from Lelouch that seemed to be asking for permission to speak, was the proper way to go about the interview. But, if he wanted to get a complete story, he'd better approach it from the proper angle.

Phoenix shook his head and then looked to Lelouch. "No, don't answer that yet. Right now, even if you give us some kind of explanation for why you took over the world, it would be meaningless without a clear picture of that world, or how you took it over, or what you thought you could accomplish by taking it over." Phoenix felt the grip of studying historical texts close over him. Getting answers from Lelouch would be just like unearthing answers from the history department's library. Only much easier.

He gestured for Lelouch to sit on the green couch Hazel and Kevin had vacated as he sat on it himself. "I want you to start at the beginning," he told Lelouch matter-of-factly. "So my first question is, where is the beginning?" Ella rolled her eyes at Phoenix's drawn-out interruption, but stole a cushion from the couch Rachel occupied and plopped herself down on the floor as if an interview was a spectator sport. Phoenix pulled out his PD, and set it to record the conversation, suddenly feeling like it was all coming together.

It was hard to believe he was actually doing this. He was interviewing a man who was perhaps _the most influential person in history_ (besides Zero, of course). And Phoenix was just an undergrad at a large university, a student hoping to get into an Honors Program, no different from any of the other thousands of history students across Mars and Earth. The only thing that made him special was that he had fallen into a hole one evening, and then, like getting permission from a parent for rights to a stray kitten, he had convinced Pailey to allow him to keep Lelouch.

Phoenix blinked out of his happy contemplation of his newfound significance when the Britannian before him took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "It was a long time ago," he started slowly, "and… and if I have some trouble remembering exactly what happened, as it happened…. The human mind is flawed, and so is memory. I've… had a lot of time to reflect…." He sounded pained, and the air about him was almost tragic.

"Go ahead. I can check your words against what facts we know," Phoenix said encouragingly, checking the volume of his PD. For no easily apparent reason, he felt suddenly like a proper researcher. As he settled into the couch, Phoenix had to resist the never-before felt urge to cup his chin with his hand in a sophisticated manner.

To him, the air was rapidly becoming palpable with a humming tension, and he felt suddenly filled with the coursing, electric tug of Destiny. Phoenix's search for truth was beginning.

Lelouch nodded slowly, and turned to stare out the window at the blue waves of the Atlantic. The sun had peaked over the zenith, and was now slowly falling behind the _Marterra,_ casting the shuttle's shadow across the darkening sea in an ever-lengthening shadow that seemed to be reaching towards the horizon, towards infinity.

Lelouch began.

* * *

"The beginning for me is, of course, when I was born. I was born December 5th, in the year 1999, to my mother, Marianne vi Britannia, the fifth wife of my father Charles zi Britannia, the 98th Emperor of Britannia. I spent my early childhood with my mother, and then, when she was born, my little sister Nunnally.

"I think my first memory is of that day, when I met Nunnally. She was tiny and oddly proportioned, like all infants, yet there was something entirely beautiful about her eyes. I wasn't very old, but I climbed up onto my mother's bed, and I got to hold Nunnally's hand for the first time. As she grabbed onto my finger and refused to let go, my mother said to me, very seriously, _'__C'est à toi aussi de prendre soin de Nunnally, Lelouch__.' _

"'It's your responsibility, too, to take care of Nunnally, Lelouch.'

"It was a task I took very seriously, and also one I enjoyed. I was always asking if I could look after her, or hold her, or give her toys and play with her. Whenever we went outside for a picnic, which was often, I would carry Nunnally's yellow baby blanket. The only thing I would not do was change her diaper, so my mother asked for my help with the task at least once a day, and laughed at my adamant refusals.

"Life got more interesting when Nunnally began to crawl. I would follow her around our suite at the Imperial Villa, and give anyone who would listen a running commentary of her actions. I was at that stage where I talked constantly, and although it often got me into trouble because I did not have any sense of propriety yet, I think I also cultivated a certain fondness from members of the household staff who had children of their own. My mother began to let me have more and more independence, and even let me watch Nunnally for her.

"At this time, I was of course aware that Nunnally was not my only sibling. Sometimes the other Imperial children would visit us. Most often, it was Cornelia who brought Euphie over to see us in our suite. Cornelia was much older, and acted as our babysitter while Euphie and I played together. When Nunnally was added to the equation, my little sister instantly became Euphie's favorite. Our quarrels were then limited to what game to play with Nunnally, because she was obviously my favorite as well, and we each wanted to be the one who pleased her the most. We often couldn't agree on what game my preverbal little sister liked best, but, since Euphie was a little girl herself, she convinced me that she had much more authority on the matter.

"This meant that I often ended up playing house. As the family breadwinner, I was usually out storming foreign castles or commanding rooms full of very old politicians who had no clue what they were doing. For us, that was what a father did. Euphie acted as a mother, and always had to take care of Baby Nunnally, who usually needed this or that. Sometimes we used dolls to act as Euphie's lazy servants. But, unlike our reality, I always stopped by the house to see Baby Nunnally and make sure that Euphie was taking good care of her. Often our main plot involved me finding something wrong with Euphie's caretaking abilities, and thus I would threaten to find Nunnally a new mother, something that Euphie hated.

"If our playacting got too loud or too rough, Cornelia or one of our mothers would be alerted. If we were playing under Cornelia's supervision, we would get a lecture about our behavior, and then she would tell us exactly how grown-ups would solve the situation. Inevitably, the grown-ups she imagined always took Euphie's side. If we were being watched by my mother, she would soothe us by taking Nunnally into her arms and telling us to go play tag or get out our coloring books. On the occasion that Nunnally and I played with Euphie at her mother's suite, Celestra li Britannia always gave us a stern look and told us to quiet down.

"Exactly one week after Nunnally spoke her first word, "love," I began formal lessons. I had a different tutor for each subject, and six in total. I took lessons in English, French, Mathematics, Music, a combination of Geography and History, and a children's version of Science, which most often took the form of astronomy or chemistry. I had been looking forward to these lessons ever since my contact with Euphie had been limited when she began lessons three months before me. I was thrilled, however, that I did not have to learn embroidery or how to tell real, quality China from fakery. Apparently boring lessons were for girls.

"Every night, I tried to teach Nunnally how to say my vocabulary words with no success and read books after I finished my homework. On weekends, my mother would take us on picnics into the countryside rather than the garden or front lawn, or I would take Nunnally, who had learned to walk, on a stroll to one of the other suites where our half-siblings lived.

"On one such outing around the Imperial Villa, I caught my older brothers Clovis and Schneizel playing a game of chess. Schneizel was attempting to explain the rules so Clovis could become a better player, but the latter was beginning to get bored. Spotting me, he convinced me to take over for him. Of course, I promptly lost to Schneizel, but I somehow convinced him to agree to a rematch in one week's time. Thus I began weekly chess matches with the second prince. I always thought I had the upper hand until the last moment, when I would realize that he had just been letting me think I was winning, an act that absolutely infuriated me. Worse, he knew that I couldn't stand his superiority, so he simply laughed it off when he noticed it.

"Since Clovis immediately became jealous when it appeared that Schneizel favored chess games with me, Clovis sought to gain my attention himself by inviting me over to color, draw, and paint. Sometimes we collaborated on strange pieces, and he let me order him about, drawing what I suggested no matter how many times I had asked him for a picture of it, or how strange the drawing was. Often our subject matter was Nunnally, who toddled around the room, throwing crayons while shouting out their colors. Once, I asked Clovis to help me paint a battle between space aliens where Britannia had to protect the Earth. We used nine square meters of canvas, and used Nunnally's multicolored footprints as the bodies of the attacking aliens.

"I was very happy with my life, though of course I did not analyze it then. I was a child, and I was surrounded by other children and plenty of mothers. Of course, it was to be expected that not all mothers loved me as much as _my_ mother did, but it took an incident for the full weight of this truth to sink in.

"I don't remember how it started, but one evening, Clovis and I were in a mud fight versus Euphie and Nunnally at the koi pond in the garden. The fight took place half in the shallow edge of the pond, where the best mud for slinging was, and on the bank nearby. The boys' team was losing horribly, because Euphie's aim was dreadfully accurate, and I didn't have the heart to aim for Nunnally. Clovis, despite being the eldest and a boy, shrieked the loudest, and attempted to use me as a shield despite my being much smaller than him. Towards the end of the mud fight, we boys decided to use the mud as war paint to frighten the girls. After the initial shock, however, the girls copied the idea, using bits of nearby exotic greens to complement their mud-stained faces. The ensuing laughter forced us to agree to a truce, but by then, none of us looked at all like the princes or princesses that we actually were. We had all covered our fine clothes in mud and bits of grass, and Nunally had only one shoe, owing to Clovis throwing one to the center of the pond where he assured us the koi had devoured it.

"It was the sound of Cornelia's voice that made us scatter. All except for Euphie, of course. But Clovis, Nunnally, and I feared her spotting us throwing mud at her precious little lady of a sister, so we ran off towards our separate mothers' suites, using the garden hedges as cover.

"Once safely far enough from Cornelia, but still covered in mud and grass, Nunnally and I exited the hedgerows, not bothering to brush off the leaves because to do so would be pointless. Although breathless from running from Cornelia, it had all been such good fun that we couldn't stop laughing.

"It was Carine's mother who found us. She, who had never been married to my father but had been of a higher rank than my mother, overheard our panting and giggles during afternoon tea in the garden with her daughter.

"Carine and I never socialized when we were young, unless we happened to be in the same large table at family functions. We knew we were siblings, but we moved in different circles. And although she and Nunnally were the same age, they never spoke. Carine's mother was nobility, and encouraged her to find more 'suitable' playmates and pastimes. Euphie, who was considered a 'suitable' playmate by Maleyna le Britannia, had told me that the key word was 'suitable', and also that she wasn't exactly sure what that meant, either.

"In other words, Maleyna looked down on us, and when her attendants pulled two children, one nearly barefoot and both covered in dirt, leaves, grime, and torn clothes, she felt completely justified. Here we were, proof of the low-born, peasant ways of our mother. Instead of sending us along to a bath, as Clovis's mother was sure to do, or giving us a lecture as we knew Euphie's mother would give her, Maleyna gave her attendants orders to remove us filthy children from the Imperial Villa.

"In fact, she directed them to the fastest and most sure route, which was to drop us from the southeastern gatehouse tower. As they nodded and hiked us up on their shoulders, Nunnally began crying, and I began explaining that I was Lelouch. A prince. Surely Carine at least recognized me. We had sat next to each other once, at Odysseus's birthday party.

"Those members of the Imperial family, technically members of _my_ family, denied us recognition. Carine stared, wide-eyed until her mother harrumphed at her. The little girl turned back to tea as we were carried out of the garden, holding out her pinky daintily as she took a sip. I didn't understand exactly that we were to be tossed off the tower wall and explained as an accidental fall by stupid, peasant children. I knew that something bad was going to happen, that it might hurt, but I didn't exactly understand what it would mean to _die_.

"I don't know how she knew, but I remember crying and struggling over a man's shoulder, and suddenly, from out of nowhere, came my mother.

"She was astride her favorite white horse, with a look of fierce determination with her black hair fanning out behind her. Dressed in her red hunting coat and white breeches, and surrounded by an aura of outrage that belonged to a descending, righteous angel. I'll never forget that image. In an instant, the wordless cries from Nunnally and me turned into calling for her.

"Maleyna's servants were obedient, but not stupid. They set us down carefully as my mother reined in her horse and glared down at them imperiously. I've lost the exact words that followed, but I remember how she leapt down from her horse and delivered not only a verbal blow, but gave each attendant a ringing slap before scooping Nunnally into her arms and letting me cry into her waist.

"I know that my mother tried to explain our situation to us afterwards, with weary, heartsick eyes, and that it took several conversations for me to make sense of it all. I grew up a little, and realized that my duties towards Nunnally were considerably more complicated than what I had believed them to be since her birth.

"Not only did I have to make sure she always ate her vegetables, brushed her teeth, and listened to her favorite story before bed, but I had to _protect_ her. It was a shared duty between me, my mother, and in part, my father.

"My mother always had absolute faith in her husband. Even though we rarely saw him, I knew she visited him often, and she always talked about him. She told us that the proof that my father cared for us was our existence itself. Every gift she had was from him, and every time we told her of the praise we received from our tutors, she promised to pass it on to him. He may have been mostly absent, but at the same time, my father was everywhere.

"I was proud to be a prince when I was young. Arrogant, even, because I realized I was special. Part of an elite group that could play chess in a courtyard that most people never saw. At the same time, I became aware of the severe different between myself and others at the Villa. The Maleynas and the Olivias, those who cared so painstakingly about nobility of birth that they tried to stamp out any symbol counter to their carefully constructed worldview.

"Nunnally and I were both part of the elite, and part of the world's trash. I began to navigate more carefully, more consciously. I learned my place in the world, and behaved appropriately. I never had a mud fight again, and instead sought to prove my princeliness.

"I tried to regularly visit Odysseus, who was always happy to have tea with myself and Nunnally if he was available. Such outings bored me, however, and I soon turned to strengthening my relationship with Schneizel. I needed to have excellent connections with those who could actually make a difference in court politics, and I saw no such potential in Odysseus. Schneizel, however, was different. And no matter how much our chess games infuriated me, I knew that I needed him.

"At any rate, our chess games grew into something much more complicated. We no longer stared at the board in silence, but instead spoke of other topics. Without a single lecture, he taught me much of politics, of how to win people, of how to speak so one never lied, but never told the entire truth. Schneizel taught me how to use people. The stupid ones, the brilliant ones, the mediocre ones, and the eccentric ones.

"One afternoon, our chess game was coming to a stalemate. Such stalemates always felt like a victory for me, and Schneizel was of the same opinion. As usual, once I thought I had the game finally under control, Schneizel did the unexpected.

"It was fall, and rain was pouring down outside his study room's window. The sky was gray and it was Schneizel's move. He placed his hand on the white king, and thunder suddenly rocked across the rain-slicked grounds, rubling up against the windowpanes. When the sound died down, all that was left was the sound of the rain splattering against the window and a soft laugh escaping from my older brother's lips.

"He picked up his king, and leaned forward over the board, staring at me directly. His voice was slow and even, the rest of his body still. 'The trick is to always keep your opponent guessing.' Without another word, he tossed his white king into my lap, stood, and walked towards the door. Two steps before he reached it, the door opened, and I saw, for the first time, his aide Kanon Maldini, who stood aside as Schneizel passed, and then closed the door behind him.

"Never had anyone seemed so mysterious and powerful as Schneizel did that day. I slowly put the white king back onto the table, and pondered his words. Certainly, I was in my older brother's palm, guessing wildly. But I was finally beginning to understand the kind of person I had to be.

"In order to keep my head above the toxic water of the Imperial Court, I could never let anyone know what it was I truly wanted. If I let anyone know I was after power, I would be killed. If I told anyone I did not want power, I would be cast aside. But if I walked the fine line between the two, if I kept them guessing about my true motives, I could gather enough friends to keep my enemies at bay, and enough enemies to keep my friends behaving as my allies. The truth, I would always keep to myself, and use the truths belonging to anyone else as weaponry. As Schneizel often said to me, knowledge is power. And if only I had the knowledge of my own desires, then only I had power over myself.

"Months later, I was perfecting this tight-rope walk. As I became more and more aware of the play of power around me, of the whispered gossip of the maids, of the dramatic speeches of the nobles, and of the casual talk between my favorite siblings, I took steps to ensure my security and that of Nunnally.

"I would not suffer to have simply learned my place. I had learned my place when Maleyna had attempted to kill me, and I was unsatisfied with it. I could not be an ordinary prince from an ordinary birth. I had to be an extraordinary prince, one who outshone others. I had to become so spectacular that others sought _my_ favor, that the question of my mother's birth was not questionable.

"Furthermore, I knew I could do it. I had already been passing the lessons my tutors gave me at a rate that often leant comparisons to Schneizel. I was already years ahead of Clovis. Of course, my reasons for working so hard were completely unknown to my half-siblings and my tutors. Only Schneizel could have possibly guessed, but it was satisfying to even entertain the idea that Schneizel might actually be spending his time guessing my motives.

"One thing I had through all of this was, of course, Nunnally. As full siblings, we shared a special bond, and unbreakable one. We shared everything. Our thoughts and promises, our wishes and dreams, between us nothing and everything was sacred.

"However, I knew it would be as disastrous for her to grow up completely ignorant as it would be for me. On a certain level, Nunnally understood this as well as I did. She, too, had nearly been thrown from a tower. We were in the same danger, both under the shadow cast by the misconception that our mother was somehow less than the other women at court.

"But I was still the elder. My mother and I shared the duty of taking care of Nunnally, which also meant protecting her. And I understood the best way to do this. Nunnally had to become a princess as extraordinary as the prince I longed to become.

"To do this, I shared stories of every encounter with her, and often brought her along to afternoon tea, luncheons, and chess matches so she could, like me, learn to navigate the world of deception and half-truths. Together we watched and learned and listened, and in the evenings, as we did our homework and prepared for bed, we exchanged our ideas. We slowly built the world around us, gave shape to the web of gossip and traced the lines of power.

"And amidst all this, under the careful gaze and measured threat of our mother, Nunnally and I thrived. We were slowly proving that having eight titles or having none made no difference in a person's intelligence. We had faith in our own abilities, and worked to align ourselves with our strongest siblings, and the ones who were least likely to betray us. We reasoned that our affection for Euphie was well-placed because through her, we had access to Cornelia, who was already becoming a formidable presence. We knew Carine would always question an alliance as a form of impending revenge and thus kept her at a close distance, always guessing. On Saturdays, Nunnally acted as a page for Odysseus, who was then just reaching into politics. One morning a week, I acted as Guinevere's calculator as she balanced Britannia's budget and checked the reserves.

"The goal was to be everywhere and completely harmless. By the time anyone realized we two siblings actually _had_ some influence, it would be too late for anyone to stop us. Like Cornelia, we would be a force to be reckoned with. Like Schneizel, we would be the ones from whom others wished to garner favor. We planned our actions so that when everyone finally took notice of us, we bedazzled them with our brilliance, and they could no longer do without us.

"It was the art of always keeping others guessing, but never out loud. It was implying without lying, waiting for the perfect opportunity, and creating ourselves as the hyperboles of royalty.

"We did it for ourselves, and for each other. We did it for our mother, so she did not have such a heavy burden to bear. And, in a way, we did it for our father, so that he could hear the praise passed on, and be proud of these two children.

"As it turned out, we built our plans on three false assumptions. One, that our careful cultivation of allies would be useful in _any_ circumstance. Two, that our father actually cared as our mother told us he did. And three, that our mother held the infinite power to keep us alive. All it took was one incident for all three of our base beliefs to crumble.

"I woke up late one morning. I remember that I was silently cursing my laziness, and that of our maids, because I was due for a riding lesson. I was certain that Clovis, who accompanied me during these lessons, would have taken my favorite mount to use for himself.

"I got dressed hurriedly, and stepped outside my room. The halls of our suite were eerily empty, lacking the usual morning bustle of the serving staff. Something about the situation struck me as entirely odd, and I began to worry. About what, I had no idea. It was simply the feeling that something was wrong. That some fabric of the world had suddenly been ripped asunder. I reasoned with myself to keep from running down the hallway, but in the end, I could not stop myself from at least checking Nunnally's room.

"She was not there, but the sheets had been thrown back from her bed, and were not carefully folded at the foot as was her custom. Panic seized me, and my ten-year-old feet took me immediately towards my mother's room, which was on the other side of the suite. I sprinted down the hallway, adrenaline spiking in my veins, and as I approached the grand staircase, I saw a crowd of the serving staff huddled together, their hands at their mouths.

"My mother was at the base of the steps, her black hair fanned out across her back, her pale wrists flung out. I stood there, and slowly took a step down towards her, trying to make sense of the situation.

"That dark puddle around her, dripping slowly down the steps, was blood. The strange pattern of fabric around her middle was where bullets had torn her clothing and the blood had leaked out of her. It wasn't my mother anymore. It was simply her body.

"And underneath her, trembling and blood-stained, was Nunnally. I screamed.

"My mind kept screaming even after my lungs had stopped. What continued after that first, horrifying moment was a blur, a long, unending stream of maids holding my hand, doctors talking to each other above my head, sterile beeps from the medical devices surrounding my broken sister, and a white noise that enveloped my mind. For a day, I was not a person. I was reduced to a lost little creature, an empty, childlike shell. I didn't know what would happen to me, or what would happen to Nunnally. Nothing would compute. Everything precious to me had been taken.

"That night, my mind resurfaced. When it did, I was no longer a child aiming to be an extraordinary prince.

"I _was_ an extraordinary prince.

"I paced in my room, contemplating who could have attacked my family, their motives, their plans, and ultimately, their demise. I swore revenge on the list in my head, on the one who had orchestrated the assault. Free from protecting anyone but myself for the time being, I gathered my knowledge and prepared to mentally cross off names. There was a list of nearly a hundred consorts and two ex-wives who were suspects. Almost forty half-siblings who were potential culprits. Had the target been Nunnally, or my mother? And where had our guards been?

"By morning, however, I expected the case to have been solved. I knew there were people whose job it was to figure out this sort of thing. Murders were only committed or attempted if they could be pulled of _well_ and without evidence, and hence were hardly every attempted. Yet my mother's murder remained a mystery.

"Impatient, I investigated on my own, knowing full well the dangers of doing so. If I, a lone and vulnerable prince unprotected by the fearsome Marianne, were caught by the culprit, I had no chance. And in this, my motives would be obvious to any observer. My mother was dead, and her murderer unknown. I treaded carefully, but confidently. If I showed weakness, I would only be more likely to be attacked. I tried to find those who I might be safe with, but Cornelia kept me from Euphie. I was warned to stay away, lest I bring the same catastrophe down on Celestra. Only Diana was willing to shelter me for any length of time, but she was only able to because everyone knew she was useless. However, this meant she was useless for me as well. In other words, my investigation was frustratingly fruitless.

"I paced and waited for signs of improvement in Nunnally and the murder case. For the most part, it was in vain. Nunnally never walked, and refused to open her eyes. She couldn't speak about the event, and no one else had any light to shed on the situation.

"Furious, I requested an audience with my father. I demanded to know why my mother was dead, and why there had been no one there to protect her. If he cared about us or even about her, he would see justice done, and I had yet to see any signs of justice.

"He, the might Emperor of Britannia, would not listen, and treated me as nothing more than an insolent and ungrateful child. His words will never leave me. 'Lelouch, since the moment of your birth, you have been _dead_.'

"I have lived every day since then as if I were. Though, I suppose that has been rather more true since Zero Requiem.

"But _that_ is a story for later. And if I am not mistaken, _that_ is the sound of other students returning to this ship."

Phoenix clicked his PD's recording off and rolled over, staring out his cabin's window at the starlit sea. Lelouch's tale had been… unlike anything he had ever heard. It was pure poetry of history. It was why he had listened to it again before letting himself sleep.

Although it was no surprise to hear that Lelouch had been a young prince in Pendragon—that was common knowledge—it was something entirely different to hear what went on in such a life, and how it affected the mindset of such a young child. It was eerie, frightening almost, how Phoenix was slowly watching the stage being set for the tyrant to come. How the tangled threads of his childhood were already beginning to weave a dangerous cloth.

He swallowed and closed his eyes, pulling his blankets up to his ears. He wasn't exactly sure where this adventure into the past was taking him. Three days ago, he had been ecstatic to find Zero's grave. And now he was interviewing his idol's nemesis and slowly discovering the colors of the ancient, elaborate tapestry known as Lelouch vi Britannia.

Phoenix knew he would unravel such a tapestry, no matter the cost. Even if it put his life in danger, Phoenix could not stop.

And this was what made him shiver as he pulled his blankets closer, and tried to sleep.

* * *

**End Chapter Three**

* * *

* Instead of "an elementary particle that has zero or integral spin and obeys statistical rules that place no restriction on the number of identical particles that may be in the same state" (Encarta World English Dictionary), Phoenix uses the word (which may be in noun or verb form) to mean "a deceitful, but not intentionally harmful person that may frustrate others". This meaning _does_ comes from particle physics, namely the "Higgs boson", a particle that for quite a long time misled physicists about the true nature of the universe. In 504 A.W.E., a team of researchers at the Britannia Superconducting Super Collider (BSSC) proved the existence of the Higgs boson, setting the stage for close light-speed travel and the colonization of Mars. (see . for more information)

As a verb, "to boson [direct object]" means "to frustrate", "to creep around", or "to hide". However, "to boson [indirect object]" means "to lie" or "to deceive". As a noun, it is often used with the verb "to play" or "to act (as)".

_Author's Notes: I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Please, please review and let me know what you think. This chapter has been different because it includes A LOT of Lelouch's childhood. Please tell me what you think about that. Also, I love to hear guesses about what you think will happen next (though I do not give out spoilers or foreshadowing other than what's in the story already). Any questions, compliments, and criticisms are welcome. Thanks for reading!_

_Special thanks to Spunkay Spunk for helping me fix Lulu's birthday!  
_


	4. Chapter Four

_Author's Note: Pay attention to the dates, people. There's a bit of time-skipping. Also, *sob* I'm sorry for the wait.  
_

* * *

**From the Ashes**

* * *

_**U.M.S. Marterra, **_**Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 10****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

* * *

Phoenix woke with a start, blinking away images of ghostly emperors and tinted masks as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of his cabin. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling roughly. Had he really been woken up by a dream that was already fading?

The buzz of his PD on the desk convinced him otherwise. He yawned and rolled over, tapping the monitor to shut off the vibrations. The screen flared to life, illuminating the tiny cabin room and showing him that the time was 3:30 AM.

Time to relieve Pailey of his watch, and time to start his own. Elsewhere aboard the _Marterra_, Lelouch might be plotting. Waiting for a chance to escape or set some evil plan into motion, just like he had been scheming to take control of Britannia's courtly stage as a child.

Phoenix forced himself out of bed, throwing on his sleeveless hoody and not bothering to change out of his pajamas. He didn't have to care if the former Emperor of Britannia thought he was a slob. It was the middle of the night, and Pailey—the only person that mattered—had once told him he might as well wear pajamas when he was caught accidentally sleeping in the history department's library. He hoped the professor had remembered his promise of coffee. With another yawn, he stuffed his feet into his flip flops and left his cabin, trudging down the hallway to Lelouch's holding facility.

The facility was cabin 52, an ordinary student's cabin and completely normal except for its current contents. He swung his arms as he made his way down the hallway, hoping the movement would help him wake up. It was still very dark outside, and it felt as if he had only just gotten to sleep before his PD had started going off.

"…known Zero for two years. I have no idea what you're—"

Phoenix stopped abruptly, wide awake as a woman cut off Pailey's echoing voice. Who was…?

"That's exactly why you don't see it. It's creepy, William. I thought it the moment I saw him, and now _this?"_

Phoenix swallowed nervously, leaning against the wall in the near darkness. He didn't exactly want to eavesdrop, but at the same time… it would be completely awkward to walk in on a private conversation about himself. The woman's voice, though… it was Dr. Trin. What did she have against him, anyway? He had been thinking they got along well, that she was impressed by him, even. And if she had a problem, what was she doing talking to Pailey about it in the middle of the night?

"I don't see what connection you're making here," Pailey's voice rang out flatly.

"Just _look_ at him," Dr. Trin said, her voice almost too low for him to hear.

Phoenix blinked at the dark ceiling, suddenly wishing he had gotten dressed. Why didn't Dr. Trin like him? He had thought that everyone on the research team was fond of him after the discovery of Zero's tomb. And Dr. Trin hadn't seemed like the type to be jealous…. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he stared at the dark floor. It hurt, and not just his pride, to realize that the lead researcher had some problem with him.

"He's a great kid," Pailey defended, and Phoenix's dropping self-esteem stabilized. "He's exactly what he looks like, Faery. Hardworking, honest, bright…"

Phoenix felt himself start to redden. Did Pailey really think so highly of—

"Willing to make deals with an undead tyrant?" Dr. Trin countered quickly. "I'm not the type to be superstitious, but Lelouch does it."

"I know what you mean," Pailey responded, his voice heavy with discomfort.

"So how did he even find Lelouch in the first place?" she asked.

Phoenix froze, his breath catching in his lungs. Her question was something he preferred not to think about. It was as if its echoes reached his place in the _Marterra_'s hallway like a freezing, paralyzing gas.

"I… like I said, he's a smart kid." Pailey sounded hesitant and unsure, almost too quiet for Phoenix to make out. Maybe the professor was thinking of the look on Phoenix's face as he had run into the woods, chasing something that no one else could see. Perhaps Pailey was remembering the way Phoenix had told him about the sword, and then only later—when it was too late to turn back—he had pointed to the grave.

There had been a long enough pause in the conversation. Phoenix coughed, and started walking down the hallway, making sure his footsteps were audible. He didn't want them to know he had been listening to their conversation, and felt guilty enough for listening to the bit he had. Sneaking around wasn't like him.

In truth, he didn't want to hear what other theories they had on why and how he had known Lelouch was there. Phoenix had been doing well convincing himself it was purely a coincidence of Dopaizin and irrepressible nerdiness.

He rounded the corner, seeing that Pailey and Dr. Trin were smiling at each other too nicely given their previous conversation. The wiry woman waved and stifled a fake yawn when she caught sight of the young student, then nodded and patted Phoenix's shoulder as they passed each other. Clearly she was off to bed. He nodded, turning to watch her go, his unformed thoughts interrupted a moment later by his advisor.

"Welcome to the night watch," Pailey greeted him tiredly, but with his usual humor.

Phoenix nodded, deciding to continue to pretend he hadn't overheard anything. "Coffee? And, uh, isn't the point of this to be watching Lelouch?" He looked pointedly at the door with a 52 on it, which was behind the towering professor.

Pailey glanced to the door. "I've been in there for all except the last few minutes, when Dr. Trin came by. He's been sound asleep since one-twenty." The man appeared to hesitate for a moment, then went on. "I told Dr. Trin what happened and what's going on. We've decided that it's best if no one else knows—so it's just between you, me, Dr. Trin, and the four others in your group. But mainly between you, me, and Dr. Trin." He sighed and rubbed at his neck. "And the coffee's just down the hall on the left. Get some and then it's your turn." He pointed down the hall.

Phoenix bobbed his head and went in the direction Pailey had indicated, finding a pot and a small mug on a table. He poured himself a cup, added sugar, and went back, briefly wondering if Pailey were going to bring up Dr. Trin's concerns, whatever they really were.

He hoped Pailey wouldn't bring up his own concerns, and force Phoenix to face something he didn't want to—namely whether it was ghosts or insanity that had brought him to Lelouch.

"There's a chair in there you can sit on," Pailey said, tapping on the keypad to open the door. A dark rectangle opened up in the wall. "Call me if you need anything," he finished in a loud whisper.

Phoenix nodded, stepping inside the room. The figure on the small bed was breathing deep and slow. He settled into the chair, giving one last nod to Pailey, and then took a sip of coffee as the door slid shut.

He could only hope that his watch was uneventful.

* * *

Phoenix had been going over the genealogy of the Britannian Royal Family for some time, and was trying to remember the names of all 36 of Emperor Charles' wives and consorts who had given him more than one child. Of the wives, there were three: Marianne, Celestra, and Leida. As for the 32 consorts, he could name Suzanna, Helena, Isabelle, Char…. Was it Charlotte? Or Charlene? Whatever her name was, she had borne a son and a daughter, in that order. He knew nothing of the son, but supposedly the daughter had stolen Lance Kozuki-Weinberg's virginity. Sources were unconfirmed.

He checked his PD, shielding the glow from the sleeping Lelouch with his hand. 4:52. Back to the mental family tree…. Tara, Sylvia, Olivia… wait, Olivia had been Guinevere's mother, and hadn't given birth after that….

A sudden gasp shattered the room's silence, and a moment later something warm and heavy rolled into his lap. Phoenix fell from his chair, pinned under Earth's heavy gravity and the blanket-tangled form of Lelouch vi Britannia.

"Aaugh—what're you—?" Phoenix yelled in surprise, hearing a startled yelp from the Britannian. Phoenix struggled instinctively, shoving Lelouch onto the floor while rolling out from under him. He leapt to his feet, tensed and wary of any further attacks. Having the ex-emperor flail on top of him for even a brief moment had been both suffocating and terrifying. He fixed his eyes on the former emperor, forcing himself to refrain from looking away. What was Lelouch planning? Or… was he having some kind of fit?

The Britannian was panting heavily, flopping in his blanket like a fish taco in which the fish was still alive. He freed one arm as Phoenix hurried onto the empty bed. Phoenix sat on the bed, drawing his legs up to keep them out of Lelouch's way as the undead man began clawing at the floor, gasping for breath, two barely audible words slipping out.

"Not… again…."

Phoenix blinked, and then cautiously reached his foot down to nudge Lelouch.

The clawing and flailing instantly stopped, causing Phoenix to jerk his foot back to the safety of the bed. The boy on the floor took a deep breath, rolling onto his back. Phoenix could see the glitter of his red-tinged eyes in the dim light. Lelouch blinked once, and drew in another deep breath.

"What was that… all about?" Phoenix asked, careful to keep his voice from trembling. He didn't want Lelouch to know how freaky he found the night's events. Had Lelouch just had a really horrible nightmare? Or was it some kind of trap? But what kind of trap involved pretending to have a seizure in the middle of the night? He hadn't been close to pinning Phoenix successfully, but maybe that was the point? It made Phoenix anxious to try to consider all the plots that might be going through Lelouch's manipulative mind.

Lelouch didn't answer at first, but the pause gave Phoenix time to calm his racing heart. Certainly, Lelouch was dangerous, but an emperor without an empire was only as dangerous as a snake without venom. Besides, Lelouch had promised Phoenix his history, and Phoenix was going to hold the ancient teenager to that promise. No matter what.

He set his jaw in steely determination, and watched the slow breaths of the pale Britannian.

"It just…" Lelouch answered slowly, "took me a moment to realize where I was. That's all." His voice was surprisingly calm, given that he had been more or less writhing on the floor only a minute ago.

"You forgot where you were?" Phoenix asked, allowing his voice to sound skeptical. It did seem a little ridiculous for someone like Lelouch to freak out about something so normal. Phoenix had woken up away from his _planet _his first day aboard the _Marterra_, but he hadn't fallen out of bed because of it.

Again, Lelouch took his time to answer. "I thought… it was darker than it actually is." Phoenix caught the glimmer of Lelouch's purply-red eyes again, and looked away. The room was beginning to feel rather confining.

"So because of that, you rolled on top of me and started flailing about." From Phoenix's lips, the statement sounded something like an accusation. He had been enjoying (although perhaps "enjoying" wasn't quite the right word) a peaceful predawn before Lelouch had gone epileptic, and it was better to let Lelouch know up front that Phoenix wasn't going to tolerate running away—either from him or from his questions.

He glanced down at the floor as his artifact drew a breath, hesitated, and spoke.

"For a moment, I thought I had dreamed you up, Phoenix."

Phoenix blinked.

The Britannian squirmed out of his blankets and stood slowly, gathering the tangled mass of sheets up as Phoenix's mind was processing his words. Lelouch had thrashed on the floor like a madman… because he had thought Phoenix wasn't real?

He moved aside as Lelouch began spreading his blankets back on the bed, carefully tucking in the sheets. Phoenix quickly squeezed past him, avoiding physical contact with the undead Britannian. He took his place in the chair, feeling somewhat dazed. His eyes stayed on Lelouch, but it felt impossible to focus his mind on simply watching for trickery. What on earth had Lelouch meant?

"For the past thousand years, I have woken up in exactly the same place," Lelouch said, smoothing the sheets and tugging the comforter into place. Phoenix did his best to muster a level stare in case the Britannian looked back at him, but couldn't help hoping that he would get more of an explanation. Despite how scary Lelouch's red eyes and strange words were in the small, dark room, Phoenix needed answers.

When Lelouch drew in a deep breath, Phoenix resisted the urge to set his PD to record, and instead he simply listened. "I often dream I am elsewhere, that something happened to set me free. My imagination has become quite vivid." He paused, his entire body going still before he continued both speaking and tucking in covers. "My dreams often feel more real than my waking life. They were certainly… more colorful." Phoenix saw the insuppressible shudder that rippled through Lelouch's body. His voice hollowed. "I have dreamed, or thought—it doesn't really matter which—that some friend had realized the truth, and had come to rescue me. I thought I was allowed to secretly reunite with my friends." Lelouch appeared meticulous in his bed-making, his voice slowly rising in pitch and gaining momentum as he continued. "I have also dreamed that people dug me up in order to finish the job. To kill me properly. I have thought that I was truly dead, in some kind of Hell. I was haunting my own grave, unfit to join the collective unconscious. I have dreamed that eons have passed, that I can hear the sound of the wind and rain on the tombstone above me. I can hear the crash and roar of the ocean. Time and the seasons change the landscape around me. An earthquake frees me, and I am hunted down and locked away. A meteor strikes, and—"

"I get the picture," Phoenix cut in, noticing that Lelouch's voice had fallen into an eerie, haunted monotony, and that the blankets he had been repetitively smoothing were as flat as they'd ever be. He willed himself not to shudder.

Lelouch went still for a moment, and then nodded, his shoulders slumping as he released the tension that had built up in during his monologue. "I thought for a moment I had only dreamed you, Phoenix." He took a deep breath, still facing away from the history student. "It's… cruel for a caged creature to dream of other things, if only because dreams end."

"You don't think it'd be worse if you never had those dreams at all?" Phoenix queried before he could quell his curiosity. He had never really suspected the Devil of Britannia to be such a pessimistic person. He had always believed Lelouch had possessed the kind of psychotic optimism necessary to take over the world. Or maybe… these were only the effects of his internment.

He found himself remembering how Lelouch had crawled from the grave. The single, pale hand reaching from the tomb had at first been terrifying. But moments later, the dusty air had revealed Lelouch as a coughing, watery-eyed teen dressed in old clothes. Lelouch had gone from fearsome to pathetic in moments… and Phoenix had also moved from fear to pity.

Not that he should be pitying the man who had forced his will on the world. Not that Lelouch deserved anyone's pity.

"It's hard to say," Lelouch replied, pulling back a corner of the blankets and slowly climbing into bed. "But constant reminders of the things you may never see again…." He shook his head, sending Phoenix a slight smile as he closed his creepy eyes. "To think I feared forgetting the color green. Or her smile."

"Her smile?" Phoenix asked, wondering who on earth Lelouch was talking about. There were no official records of him having any kind of romantic relationships with any girls… though during his first semester Pailey had introduced him to some ancient diaries that had alluded to Lelouch being quite the player in high school.

Lelouch leaned his head back into his pillow. "Nunnally's smile," he breathed, "was perfect."

Phoenix could just make out a relaxed smile on the Britannian's face. It was the most peaceful expression he had ever seen on the boy, and again, Phoenix found himself realizing that Lelouch was only nineteen. Although he may have technically lived longer, he had only done so inside a dark and claustrophobic tomb. Obviously it hadn't done wonders for what was undoubtedly an already damaged psyche, but it seemed as if Lelouch was still mostly the same person he had been thousands of years ago. Though maybe the anxious tone in his voice and the haunted expression on his face were new.

Even so, Phoenix wondered how someone as evil as Lelouch could still show such devotion to someone as kind as Nunnally had been. He glanced at the figure on the bed, and then looked away. He doubted that such an emotion could be faked.

But to accept that Lelouch truly had a gentle side would be difficult. Could anyone really accept that Lelouch wasn't exactly the devil he had been made out to be?

Phoenix shook his head, trying to clear it of such a ridiculous thought. The man had been horrible enough to be labeled Worst Human Being Ever thousands of years after his death. All of Lelouch's words and gestures were evidence that the former emperor was quite insane. Writhing on the floor in the middle of the night, sudden mood changes, and a history of world takeover. Clear signs of an unstable mind.

Phoenix firmly believed that someone who had taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people was not capable of love. Not even towards his younger sister.

But Phoenix couldn't forget Lelouch's gentle smile when he spoke her name.

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 12****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

After only three days, Phoenix was beginning to feel the strain of his exhausting new routine. Morning started in the dark, with convincing Lelouch that he was still real and that their promise still dawn, Pailey dropped by with breakfast. After a shower and a change of clothing, Phoenix was more or less attached to Lelouch until just after lunch. He used the time to probe Lelouch about his childhood, taking the Britannian from the prying eyes of other researchers and interviewing him on the periphery of the cemetery. After lunch, he passed Lelouch to Dr. Trin for up to three hours. After a nap, he returned to being Lelouch's watchdog-interviewer until after dinner, when he passed off his charge to Pailey and collapsed on his bed.

But in all honesty, the actual interviews with Lelouch were much less stressful than he had thought they would be. In daylight, dressed in regular clothes, Lelouch appeared rather normal. He seemed to take to his duty to Phoenix like a hound to a scent—seriously, but also was also grateful to Pailey for making a trip into Columbia to get his artifact cosmetic contact lenses. The dark brown eyes not only helped to disguise Lelouch's true identity (and strengthen his false one as Larry Rougelamp, Dr. Trin's Terran intern), but also significantly reduced the creepiness level by hiding the strange red sigils.

For whatever reason, the contacts also seemed to make Lelouch friendlier, but maybe that was due to his readjustment to living on top of the ground rather than in it. Needless to say, Phoenix resisted the unspoken offer of friendship.

Since the weather had been so warm and dry—though the air still felt too humid to Phoenix's Martian tastes—they had taken to sitting in the shade just on the other side of the cemetery's western wall. In the right spots, the stones made surprisingly comfortable backrests. Phoenix's PD was always set between them, recording their voices, birdsong, and the rustle of the breeze through the leafy canopy above them. Phoenix asked questions and listened intently for several hours, breaking only slightly for lunch and then ending the discussion when the sun crossed a certain tree.

Phoenix yawned as he and Lelouch made their way back to the center of the excavation site. Dr. Beradoire, clad as usual in an awful Hawaiian shirt, gave them a nod as they skirted his site at Andreas li Britannia's tomb. Phoenix smiled back, trying not to look as tired as he felt. He was looking forward to today's afternoon nap.

Unfortunately, when they reached Dr. Trin's tent, she was absent. Phoenix sighed, slumping into a folding chair while Lelouch stood quietly by the door.

"You… take a nap in the afternoons, don't you?" Lelouch queried, passing his gaze across the tired history student.

"Yes, I do. I have to because I stand guard on you for half the night," Phoenix reminded, realizing that he had the habit of losing his tact when he was tired. Then again, he felt beyond tired and tact towards Lelouch wasn't supposed to matter. The Terran gravity, the constant watching of Lelouch the Devil, and the lack of sleep combined was starting to be too much. And that wasn't even mentioning his concern about whether he was schizophrenic or able to see ghostly, undead one was cause for concern, though.

"Sorry about that," Lelouch returned quietly, looking down at his feet. Phoenix was too weary to make the effort to shake his head and tell Lelouch that his apology was meaningless.

Suddenly, the flap at the entrance to the tent swung open. Phoenix's initial relief at finally being able to sleep was dampened significantly when Professor Pailey entered the small tent.

Pailey took one look at Phoenix, and stopped. "Zero, naptime. Now," he commanded bluntly. "I've got Larry until Faery gets back."

Phoenix nodded, raising a hand to cover his yawn. He glanced to Lelouch to nod goodbye, and then froze, caught in the Britannian's wide-eyed stare. The intensity was frightening, and Phoenix had to remind himself to breathe.

Belatedly, it hit him.

Pailey had called him…

Zero.

Lelouch dipped his chin, maintaining perfect eye contact, his expression forming a question.

"It's just a nickname," Phoenix said quickly—too quickly, judging by the slight raise of Lelouch's delicate eyebrow. "Because of my research." He swallowed. His words weren't coming out right, feeling like lies, and the whole ordeal was not helped by Pailey's sudden and belated "Oh."

Lelouch looked away, nodding at the floor, but Phoenix knew that Lelouch didn't buy it. Then again… why was it something Phoenix had to hide? He had always been rather proud of his name and its possible implications, so why should he fear Lelouch's reaction? If anything, Lelouch should fear Phoenix Zero, not the other way around.

He breathed deeply, squaring his shoulders and facing Lelouch. "It's my real name," he stated, causing Lelouch to jerk back towards him, his expression a mixture of hope and failure. "My name is Phoenix Zero."

Lelouch nodded helplessly, and without warning collapsed to his knees, placing his palms on the hard, dusty ground. Phoenix widened his eyes in alarm, but didn't move. Had Lelouch guessed what his name meant? Did he believe it? Was he bowing down, trying to ask forgiveness from Zero?

He risked a quick glance at Pailey, who shook his head.

Lelouch drew in a ragged breath and curled up, hugging his arms to his sides as his face rocked closer to the ground. Phoenix still wasn't sure what was going on, until he heard the first sob, and saw the first wet drop land on the ground.

The tent flap opened and closed again, though Phoenix couldn't take his eyes off Lelouch to see who it was.

"We had no idea what we were getting into." Dr. Trin's voice was low and full of an ominous foreboding.

Phoenix swallowed, taking a step back and remembering his exhaustion. He had a feeling she was right.

* * *

_**U.M.S. Marterra, **_**Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 13****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

"Special treat for you," Pailey was saying as the door to cabin 52 slid open. Phoenix glanced up from his chair, blinking. Lelouch turned away from the cabin's window for a moment, and then went back to staring at the waves.

"Yeah?" Phoenix asked, covering a yawn a moment later.

"I didn't bring you breakfast."

"What's that in your hand?" Phoenix asked with a flat stare, gesturing to the bagel-shaped napkin in Pailey's right hand. There was cream cheese in his left. "And how is no breakfast a special treat?"

"Obviously, it's the breakfast of the undead," Pailey replied, giving Phoenix a wink. Phoenix didn't really think it was funny, having just spent half the night reassuring the undead that he was no longer buried. It was creepy rather than funny, and he didn't like the reminder that Lelouch had somehow survived for 1,500 years.

"And the special treat is you treating yourself, Zero," Pailey continued, apparently oblivious to Phoenix's discomfort.

But the treat _was_ a good one, so he nodded, climbing to his feet, glancing only momentarily at Lelouch. He had been concerned that the revelation of his last name would set back the interview process for a while, but by the time Phoenix had returned from his nap that day, Lelouch had been back to his normal self. He hadn't brought it up again, and Phoenix had been content to keep it that way. He told himself it was because the matter was irrelevant, not because he was afraid to.

He stretched as he exited the room, trying to imagine all his worry being trapped behind the sliding door to cabin 52. His stomach growled, and he hurried down the hallway towards the _Marterra_'s cafeteria. It felt like it had been a long time since he had eaten a normal meal, without the presence of Lelouch.

Though, it _had_ been oddly entertaining to see Lelouch down his first meal since the last year of Ascension Throne Britannia. Entertaining, but the creepiness factor had put Phoenix off his own feed. Normal people didn't suffer startling culinary inventions between meals.

Snatches of conversation drifted towards him as he approached the cafeteria. He passed three girls chatting over coffee, and suddenly felt very awkward and abnormal. He hadn't had a meal in the cafeteria for the past four days, because he had been watching over someone who was considered too much a liability to eat there.

He sighed, picking up a tray. He hadn't even had a chance to call Lia and tell her that he had done something really crazy like she had insisted.

"Well look who's gracing us with his presence today," came a dry voice. Phoenix looked up, recognizing a familiar redhead on the other side of the table of fruit, smiling with Ella at her side. "Long time, no see," she said as he walked over.

"Yeah… I've been… busy," he said lamely, placing an apple on his tray.

"Are you okay, though?" Ella asked.

He nodded, thrown off guard by the question. "Do I not look okay?" he hazarded, and was reassured by the laughter from the girls.

"You _never_ look okay," Rachel assured him, patting his arm. He rolled his eyes, but was secretly very happy to have his two friends make fun of him in such a normal way.

It was as if, since spending so much time with Lelouch, he had forgotten what a normal life was like. His constant companion of late was a person who had lived in a different era, who spoke in a tone that was as far away from the real world and normality as his hidden purple eyes. It was like participating in a fantasy or an extended dream, but he had to admit that real life was definitely refreshing.

"So, you've been guarding Larry, huh?" Ella said, her voice the perfect pitch and tone to be lost in the general hum of the cafeteria.

Phoenix nodded and swallowed his mouthful of coffee. "He needs someone looking out for him," he said, thinking that his phrasing sounded much more natural considering Larry's occupation as an intern.

"Not much sleep then, helping him stay on track?" Ella said, correcting her metaphor and adding to it. She stared at him from over her breakfast while at her side, Rachel poked unenthusiastically at hers.

Phoenix gave them a strained smile. "Is it that obvious?" He hadn't spent much time looking at himself in the mirror lately, and was hoping Rachel's earlier jab hadn't been more truth than fiction. He didn't need awful gray bags under his eyes—he wasn't even twenty yet!

"Haha, no," Ella said, shaking her head. "It's just that you seem kinda spacey… well, more spacey than usual," she amended. She crunched on her cereal, swallowed, and continued. "I guess it's just good to see you alive and well. We're not above worrying about you, you know."

Phoenix nodded, giving her a geeky smile. "Yeah, I'm just so busy I haven't even had time to do much else. I'm learning all sorts of things—you have no idea how cool my recordings are. It's a first-hand account of pretty much all the things I've always wondered about. _First-hand_," he repeated, trying to impress on his friends the nerdy awesomeness of his task. He shook his head in disbelief. "And I'm not even into the really interesting parts yet."

"Good for you. Maybe we can find some time to hang out, though?" Ella suggested, nudging Rachel to see if she was interested. Rachel shrugged, her mouth full.

"That'd be cool," Phoenix replied, and then frowned. "Though I'm really not sure when."

"Well, whenever, really," the brunette said with an easy-going shrug. "I mean, we're always just in the dorm area when we're not here or at the site."

"Yeah, I'll see if I can get away for a bit," Phoenix said, thinking that the idea sounded just as appealing as it did impossible. Pailey had a lot to do just keeping up appearances with the other professionals, not to mention dealing with any other problems among the students, and figuring out the licensing to opening Zero's tomb….. And Dr. Trin… she was the lead researcher of the whole operation. Not to mention the fact that she, for whatever reason, didn't seem to completely trust him….

"Yeah," Ella said brightly.

"Yeah," Phoenix responded suddenly, her voice having drawn him back to the present.

Rachel snorted. "Yeah," she added, her voice slightly sarcastic.

"Yeah?" Ella asked with a goofy smile, looking to her redheaded friend.

"Yeah." Rachel's voice was even more critical than before, as if her word had actually been a negative.

In response, Ella drew her eyebrows together, looking slightly worried.

Rachel sighed and shrugged, as if whatever the two girls were silently talking about was a subject she didn't want to discuss any further. She shook her head slightly and picked up her fork.

"Yeah?" Phoenix echoed, completely confused. Ella smiled and nudged Rachel in the ribs again with her elbow. Rachel rolled her eyes, and Phoenix couldn't tell if her smile was forced or if it were the other way around, and she was trying not to smile. Phoenix wasn't sure why she would do either.

Rachel suddenly sighed and leaned over the table, her expression much too serious for breakfast. Phoenix felt a sudden tension in his gut, and wondered whether he was going to be able to finish his meal. For some unknown reason, he was abruptly wondering if he was going to get punched in the face.

"You _do_ know what you're doing, right?" Rachel asked, her voice low.

Phoenix swallowed uncomfortably, nodding belatedly. "With… Larry, you mean?"

"Rachel…" Ella hissed, giving her friend a pointed look.

"Who else, stupid?" Rachel replied, completely ignoring Ella. "I'm going to say this once, and you'd better listen.

"I don't like what going on. I don't trust that Larry guy for a second, and you shouldn't, either. Ever since he popped out of the ground, you've been ignoring everything else around you. I don't like it. And I'm not stupid, either. I did some research of my own. We all know he took over the world, but let me just say there were always rumors…."

"Rach_el…_" Ella hissed again, this time frowning in distaste.

But Rachel shook her head and continued giving Phoenix a level look. He wondered what she was going on about. It was especially weird considering that _Phoenix_ was the history buff in this group, and he doubted there was anything his "I'm here for kicks" friend knew about Lelouch, Zero, or anything historical that he, Phoenix Zero, didn't.

Still, the look in her eyes made him wait for her next words.

"Rumors about witchcraft. That he could hypnotize people into doing his bidding."

The moment might have been as dramatic as Rachel expected it to be, except that Phoenix _had_ heard that stupid rumor, and that Ella was looking embarrassed. Phoenix couldn't help but press his lips together as he tried not to smile, or worse, burst out laughing.

Rachel went on the defensive. "Look, I'm just keeping an open mind here, seeing that this guy just up and climbed out of a grave." She picked up her tray and swung her legs over the bench, her next words coming out clipped and harsh. "Go ahead and laugh all you want. I just figured saying it was more important than keeping it to myself and seeing my friend get killed."

Ella's smile disappeared as she exhaled in frustration, pressing her lips together. "Oh Rachel, just stop."

"Whatever, Ella."

Phoenix had the sudden feeling the two girls had already had a similar conversation sometime in the past four days. He cringed as Rachel shook her head and stood, refusing to acknowledge Ella's pleas, and walking away from the table.

"Sorry. She's been like that for a while," Ella said in disappointment. "She really just wants 'Larry' back in the ground." The air-quotes she put around the name were for some reason just as obnoxious as her heavy sarcasm.

Phoenix blinked in shock. So _that's_ what Rachel had been after with this conversation? She was trying to convince him to give up his cause for truth? He felt a twinge of betrayal, that she would attempt to persuade him that Lelouch was going to hypnotize him into a puppet, when in fact Lelouch had done nothing of the sort. Lelouch acted like his dog or something, sleeping on command and walking at his heels everywhere. Rachel was trying to tell him to stop working with Lelouch, even though she never actually saw what Lelouch was like!

And when everyone had run away during that first moment, it had been Phoenix who had stayed behind in the swirling dust. Phoenix had been the one to bravely hold out his hand, to stare the devil down and demand his history and his truth.

Rachel had it all wrong if she thought Phoenix was being controlled by Lelouch. It was entirely the other way around. Lelouch had accepted the terms of their contract, and hadn't complained at any of his treatment. (Treatment that, if Phoenix really wanted to admit it, was also more appropriate for a talking dog than a normal person. But seeing as he had murdered thousands and was immortal, Lelouch didn't count as a normal person.)

Ever since the moment he had bound Lelouch to his words, Phoenix had known he would risk his very life to know what Lelouch knew. Fate had given him a chance that didn't come around very often. In truth, chances like this _never_ did. If he didn't follow this until the end, there was no one else who would, or even _could._

So who was Rachel to try to convince him he was wrong when he knew he was right? He considered himself brave and fortunate enough to have come this far, and he wasn't a quitter. Rachel just obviously didn't understand that _this_ might very well be his purpose in life. He was a dedicated historian, and was not going to be stopped some old rumors that no serious person put stock in. It wasn't fact until there was proof, and Phoenix wasn't following Lelouch around with a "yes, Your Majesty" or anything similar. He didn't like the unwarranted anger from a person who didn't really know what she was talking about.

"So, do you also think I should stop?" he asked slowly, piercing Ella with a sullen gaze.

"Do _not_ put me in the middle of this," Ella shot back quickly. She sighed and then stared down at her food. "Sorry. Just… Rachel sometimes gets difficult to deal with, and I value both of your friendships."

A bell chimed, signaling the end of the hour. He met Ella's eyes with mixed feelings, knowing that whatever had just happened at the breakfast table was a huge mess and entirely unresolved. Furthermore, she knew where he was going.

To Lelouch's side, where he would continue his task. Where, he was certain he would uncover the secrets that only Lelouch knew, no matter who tried to stop him. Dr. Trin, Rachel, and even Ella could distrust him all they wanted. He'd explain things later to Rachel when he could, but if she'd rather try to bring his quest to an unfinished end than try to be helpful and support him, there was ultimately nothing he could do about it. As bitter a conclusion to come to as that was, Phoenix knew he still had Pailey on his side, and that his artifact was still willing. The path to the truth was yet clear before him, and there was no turning back.

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 14****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

Whatever the cause, Phoenix was finding it harder and harder to remember that Lelouch was in fact the terrible tyrant from all his history books. The contacts allowed him to look the Devil of Britannia in the eyes without shivering, which was having all sorts of unexpected consequences. Phoenix found himself actually staring into those dark brown eyes often, and it took him days to realize that those eyes stared back just as often. Lelouch was no longer dropping his eyes as he had been during their first interviews,

What was more unnerving, but only when he thought about it, was that the interviews had lately been sounding more and more like a conversation between two friends. This was furthered by how Lelouch began smiling during portions of his reminiscing.

But smiling in and of itself was no reason for alarm, even when the smile belonged to Lelouch vi Britannia. Phoenix didn't mind smiling along when the topic warranted it, either. But it was uncomfortable when Lelouch laughed that morning, and Phoenix found it difficult to stifle his own.

Lelouch noticed the way Phoenix schooled his expression back to a serious one, and his laughter died on his lips. The Britannian leaned his head back against the stone wall, and looked up at the sky.

"Any other questions, Phoenix?" he asked, hiding his sigh better than his disappointment.

Phoenix told himself he didn't have to feel bad for not being Lelouch's friend. For not laughing with him. Though telling himself that was rather useless against the sour taste in his mouth. He didn't really feel like talking much anymore.

Dialogue with Lelouch was becoming too natural. Even if it was terribly obvious that Lelouch was the person he talked to most, Phoenix didn't want it to be that way. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Rachel since that morning in the cafeteria, and he had the horrible, almost nauseating feeling that she was going to start laboring in vain to free him from a hypnosis that didn't even exist. And then get mad at him about it. He worried that she was going to sway Ella, too, and then he'd have no friends on Earth and no one to talk to other than Dr. Trin, who apparently thought he was creepy, Pailey, who was more like a parent than a friend but at least _liked_ him, and… Lelouch.

Maybe there was a reason why Phoenix spent most of his time with the ex-emperor, and found the interviews to be perhaps the least stressful part of his day. He didn't like to think that he was avoiding his friends, but he really didn't know how to calm Rachel down and the more time that went by, the harder it became to think of something. At least with Lelouch, he knew what questions to ask and what responses to make. Interviews were easy, and listening to a biography was much less complicated than actually living. The biography itself made an interesting story, even though he knew its end and the outline of its middle. He exhaled slowly as he stared at Lelouch's profile, trying his best to match it with old videos and photos of the terrible emperor.

But the truth was… there _were_ no pictures like this. None with Lelouch so relaxed, with the sunlight dappling across his face and arms. There were no videos of Lelouch the Devil having a bit of downtime in a forest, with that slight, wistful smile on his face. The two people—past and present—were difficult to match up, and at the present moment, it was a struggle to even match this Lelouch with the eerie-eyed being that rose from a black tomb.

Which was the real Lelouch? Was he tryant, monster, or… just what Phoenix saw before him?

"I don't mind if you stare at me for the rest of the day, but I have the feeling that's not your intention," Lelouch stated, sliding his chocolate eyes towards Phoenix.

"Uh, right," he responded instantly, snapping his gaze to a fern on his other side. He reminded himself that people in Lelouch's era didn't read into long stares between same gender individuals. Thank goodness for it, though. "I was just trying to think of a question," he lied hastily, "but, uh, since I think we've covered in great detail everything until your exile, I guess we might as well move on." Phoenix was impressed that his blunderings actually led to something useful. At least he still had brains.

"So whenever you're ready, Lelouch, talk about what happened afterwards."

* * *

"My father wasted no time. After our confrontation, he sent Nunnally and myself to Japan. I felt used and discarded, thrown to a foreign country halfway around the world. And Nunnally… it pained me every time I helped her into her wheeled chair, and every time she reached out suddenly in front of her, trying to make sense of her newly darkened world.

"The situation made me change my plans entirely. No longer were we to be an extraordinary royal duo, seeking courtly power and bedazzling all who beheld our presences. Nunnally was physically broken, and I was emotionally handicapped.

"I took great care to shelter Nunnally. The horror that she had witnessed—our mother's death—was great enough for her entire lifetime. I vowed to protect her from the world's evils, to prove to her that goodness existed. I wanted her to believe in the gentle world she and Euphie had always played in when they pretended they were fairytale princesses of a perfect land.

"I tried to convince her that going to Japan would be like visiting that fairytale kingdom, that it would be a fun adventure for both of us. I made up all kinds of stories about the people who lived there, based more on my imagination than fact, including plenty of loyal samurai and ninja maidens and beautiful geishas as I knew existed in the far-off country.

"Our arrival was dismal. It was raining at Narita airport, and the two of us were shepherded along by stern-faced Japanese businessmen, the servants of Prime Minister Kururugi. I didn't want anyone else to take care of my baby sister, but I was so tiny that I struggled to help Nunnally into her chair and then it was an effort just to wheel her along. But from behind her, I could see how her head tilted slightly as she listened to the awkward syllables of the language and the patter of the rain against the glass windows of the airport.

"'Tell me what it's like,' she asked me, and thus began our way of coping. I told her that the country was beautiful, that the rain seemed to sparkle in the sky, and that everywhere there were interesting people who all looked busy doing something. I described the tall skyscrapers and the huge televisions that flashed over the large squares. As we were loaded into a limousine, I told her it was black and looked very sleek in the rain, that the droplets of water from the sky made perfect circles in the concrete puddles.

"She asked me questions about every little detail, and gripped my hand tighter when she was excited. And through my descriptions, through the way I made the world beautiful for Nunnally… I saw it through her closed eyes.

"Japan _was_ beautiful. As we escaped the downtown section of Tokyo, I saw tiny statues nestled between buildings, hanging lanterns by ramen shops, and even two women holding up the sleeves of their colorful kimono as they hurried through the rain on their wooden platform sandals.

"The road took us up towards the Kururugi Shrine, a complex of buildings on the top of a hill, with the driveways and the long steps marked by tall, red, Japanese arches. We were dropped off at the base of what I took to be a thousand stone steps. It was impossible to push the chair up steps, so I asked Nunnally to climb onto my back. I carried her up, all by myself, while the men in black suits with dark glasses walked hesitantly around us. I felt defiant towards them, and as much as I already disliked the thought of my father and my homeland, I felt proud that I was a Britannian prince, strong enough to carry my sister the entire way by myself.

"It was likely an hour before I made it to the top, and cautiously let Nunnally off my back. We were in front of the largest of the strangest-looking buildings I had ever seen. The roof curved, and overhung a long way all around the building, keeping dry a wooden walkway attached to the wall. The doors, which might have been made of paper, slid open to the sides, and a woman in a plain-looking kimono ushered us inside.

"We had to take off our shoes in the first room, and then were made to sit on cushions on the floor in another room while the adults talked. I whispered to Nunnally what was happening as I carried her inside and set her down next to me. Neither of us knew what the adults were discussing, but we could safely assume it had to do with us.

"Suddenly it seemed as if the men had reached some kind of conclusion, and one turned to me, speaking in very broken English. He told us that we were to stay here, at the house of Kururugi Genbu during our stay in Japan. He said something about the pleasantness of nations and hoped we could all get along. I was simply ready to sleep after the long journey.

"A woman, who might have been the same one as before, directed us to our new home. It was a small shed on the edge of the shrine, but it was fortunately at ground-level, which meant we could enter without the impediment of stairs. The woman gestured towards our bags, which were waiting just inside the building for us. Without another word, the woman nodded and disappeared, and we siblings were left alone.

"I was appalled at our new setting. Certainly it was a roof over our heads, but it could only be called that. I wasn't sure if there were beds, or just the maze of old things. There were more sliding doors, and just as I coughed when opening one, Nunnally asked me to describe our new home. I plucked up my courage and tried to spot something good.

"In no time at all, however, Nunnally had turned it into a game. Soon enough I was describing a palace even more brilliant than the one we had left behind. I said that the chandeliers were enormous, and that they made the entire space glitter like a party. She squealed and told me we had to invite all our siblings here for a grand soirée. I told her that the other room was an enormous bedchamber that we could share because it had two king-sized beds with a zillion pillows and big, bright windows. She insisted that Euphie, Cornelia, and Clovis had to come over for tea and a sleep-over. I said we had a view of Mount Fuji and she said that after our sleep-over, we could all climb it and have a picnic. Just as I was climbing up a ladder to tell her what marvelous treasures were in our personal loft, I met _him: _Kururugi Suzaku.

"He was dressed in the traditional clothing of his country, but looked nothing like the other Japanese people I'd seen. He had a mop of brown hair instead of smooth black, and his eyes, instead of dark brown, were bright green. I blinked at him for a long moment, wondering who he was and whether I could convince him to play servant for Nunnally.

"But before I could open my mouth, Suzaku attacked. He was never much for thinking before acting, or thinking at all for that matter. In a matter of seconds, we were trading blows and calling each other by racial slurs.

"Nunnally's voice cut through our squabble, and I instantly broke free, assuring her that I was fine despite a bleeding lip and a soon-to-be black eye. I turned to stare defiantly at my new enemy, and suddenly, it didn't work.

"Suzaku was looking forlornly at Nunnally, having just realized she was completely blind. He trembled violently and then ran away, leaving me bruised and Nunnally worried. For all his strong fists and words, Suzaku proved to be more of an idiot than anything else, because the next day he hung his head and apologized… to Nunnally alone.

"Thus began our strange friendship. Although Suzaku's name-calling and fist-fallings on me diminished as time went on, we continued to be an odd trio. As the brains of our childhood operation, I would plan our activities and adventures, leaning only on Suzaku's knowledge of Japanese holidays and the surrounding terrain. Nunnally was the glue that kept us from deciding to never speak to each other, and always patched up our friendship after our fights. Suzaku simply alternated between hating the interlopers living in his shed and cherishing his only friends.

"Those days are the ones I remember when I hear the word 'childhood.' They were the only months of my life when I felt as if most of my troubles were the kinds of troubles that all children go through. I was roped into playing tea party with my little sister, and I skinned my knees and elbows playing tag with my best friend. I endured teasing and bullying. I explored hillsides and built impromptu forts. Suzaku and I got into a fistfight, brawl, or wrestling match every other day, and I always lost. I taught him chess and always won. He taught me _go_, and I still always won.

"There were days when tea parties, chess, and wrestling matches were what mattered most to me. But there was always a frightening undercurrent to the normalcy. From time to time, it would surface, interrupting my childhood to remind me that I was simply a pawn.

"Because the rest of the world—the adult world—continued to move, continued to plot. And it was up to me to save myself and Nunnally, and to bring our mother's killer to justice."

* * *

**West of Columbia Interplanetary Port, Eastern America, Earth. June 19****th****, 1529 A.W.E.**

"Would you say you wanted protect Nunnally more than anything else in the world?" Phoenix asked slowly, glancing up into the afternoon sky. The vibrant Earth green of the leaves looked even brighter when the warm sunlight passed through them. He had been asking for the footnotes from the second chapter of Lelouch's life for the past few days, trying without much luck to find the root of evil that should exist in the boy beside him.

"Of course I did. Nunally meant the world to me. She was my reason for everything, Phoenix." His voice was low, and Phoenix got the impression that it was so because speaking otherwise would reveal how choked up he was.

Phoenix shook his head. Figuring out Lelouch was the hardest task he'd ever encountered. It was plain after the past week and a half that Lelouch hadn't always been the evil monster that history remembered him to be. Furthermore, whether he was still capable of being that monster was…

…uncertain. He glanced over at the black-haired boy next to him, who was smiling slightly with his eyes closed. He still had the habit of not looking like a murderer, which was bothersome, but less so than it had been a week ago. It was odd, really that Phoenix felt used to treating Lelouch like a normal history informant.

Especially when there was no way Lelouch was anything like any other history informant. Lelouch held more knowledge than an open book, was more willing to offer relevant information than the internet, and was far more portable than a library. He was arguably the most important find in centuries, if not ever. To say that "just anyone" could have been the immortal person to rise from the grave was probably untrue, but it was still a fact that Phoenix had found a person who had been at the center of things during his favorite era….

Sometimes it took a surprising amount of willpower to go back into camp for a nap, even when he knew he was exhausted. And besides wanting to stay late to continue the interview, Phoenix felt it was a daily exercise in willpower to not ask Lelouch directly for his impression and knowledge of Zero. He was dying to find out, but didn't want to ruin the ending of the story since Lelouch was telling it so well.

"So that's probably it for today," Phoenix said, rolling his shoulders and picking himself up from the ground. The sun was already farther past the usual tree than usual.

Lelouch nodded, opening his chocolate brown eyes, and the two began making their way back towards Dr. Trin's tent.

"So what do you do when you're with Dr. Trin, anyway?" Phoenix asked, wondering why he'd never done so before.

Lelouch shrugged, looking back at him. "She doesn't speak much to me." He looked forward again, but his voice carried back to Phoenix. "It's much more like being guarded when I'm with her."

"You don't feel like I watch you closely enough?" Phoenix asked, brow furrowing in concern. Did that mean Lelouch thought he could pull off some kind of trick and escape while under Phoenix's watch? His mind raced over the old speeches by Lelouch vi Britannia. He _had_ been the kind of person to taunt his foes by leaving a clue to the trick, or at least by revealing his master plan during its completion….

Lelouch laughed lightly. "I thought you would take it as a compliment, Phoenix." The black hair bobbed side to side and Lelouch paused to hold a branch back for the Martian. "You're much easier to talk to. I appreciate it."

Phoenix looked away. What in all the solar system made Lelouch have moments of such sincerity? He took a deep breath, telling himself it was likely to lure him into a false sense of security. It's a trap, he reminded himself. Everything Lelouch does is a trap.

But despite his inner monologue, Phoenix didn't bother to hide his smile. "Er, thanks," he replied. "Let's, uh, hurry back. I'm sleepy."

As had become his usual custom, Phoenix waved at Dr. Beradoire as they passed the grave of Andreas li Britannia. The stone was looking quite clean, and Phoenix could easily read the engravings on the front now. The doctor was too busy with his PD or something and almost didn't notice him as he passed, but then gave him a short, wide-eyed stare. Phoenix waved and turned away.

With his next step, Phoenix nearly ran into Lelouch. He gave the other boy a glare for slowing so unexpectedly, but then stopped at the serious look on the Britannian's pale face. "That man… is he sick?" he asked in a whisper. Phoenix stepped around a stump and glanced back.

"Dr. Beradoire?" He was suddenly embarrassed for looking back because the man was still staring at him, though maybe he was just staring into space? He quickly turned back to Lelouch. "Not that I know of. Why?"

"He's just been looking worse and worse lately…" Lelouch trailed off uncertainly, his brown eyes darting around.

"Probably just working too hard," Phoenix explained with a smile. "All of us history nerds are like that." He thought back to the unhappy breakfast he'd shared with Ella and Rachel, wondering if he himself didn't show a change for the worse. He'd never gotten a chance to go hang out with them since then, either. (Not that he was sure Rachel even wanted to see him.)

Lelouch nodded uneasily, and then jumped a moment later as a voice called out to them.

"Phoenix! Larry!"

Phoenix turned around again. "Yes, Dr. Beradoire?" he asked, watching the man climb up from his workstation, brushing the dirt off his khaki shorts.

"Good timing! There's something I'd like to, ah, show the two of you," he said, rubbing at the dirt on his hands. He gave them a cheesy grin, and then quickly pointed into the forest. "It's, ah, a new excavation site, actually." He nodded and then wiped the humidity off the back of his neck. "It might be Princess Cornelia's," he added. "Want to see?"

Phoenix grinned. "Of course!" he said, jogging forward and forgetting entirely about his nap. Princess Cornelia's grave? There was no way he was missing _this_ one! She had been the most fearsome Princess of Charles's Holy Empire, leading her elite unit of Glaston Knights. During the Black Rebellion, she had suddenly disappeared from the battlefield, waiting until the opportune moment to strike Lelouch down. She had gone from Zero's most frightening enemy to one of his most trusted allies. Nunnally the Gentle had chosen her son as heir to the Empire. It would be an amazing find for the research team.

Phoenix tripped suddenly, knocking his mind out of his history-induced fantasies as he regained his balance. He belatedly looked back to see if Lelouch were following him.

"Uh, come on, Larry," he reminded, motioning the former Emperor to follow.

"This way," Dr. Beradoire said, starting off into the shrubs and branches without another word. The trail sloped downhill, and Phoenix stepped aside to let Lelouch go first. It was much easier to follow someone else down a trail-that-wasn't-really-a-proper-trail, and Dr. Beradoire was too far ahead for Phoenix to clearly see his feet.

He felt himself relax into the rhythm of stepping into Lelouch's footprints and watching out for roots and low branches. The wind rustled through the dense bushes ahead, and a bird suddenly squawked loudly, flapping through the foliage overhead and then out of sight. It seemed that Cornelia's grave was oddly distant from her son's, but then again, he had been an Emperor.

"ZERO!"

Phoenix and Lelouch both jumped at the call.

"LARRY!" This time, Phoenix whipped his head to the direction of the voice. There was only one person who regularly called him Zero.

"Pailey?" He blinked, staring into the trees to his left as if he expected the professor to come tromping through them. What on earth would make the man yell like that? It was more than just being a few minutes late to Dr. Trin's tent….

"ZERO!" He sounded… worried. There was a note of anxiety in his advisor's usually unflappable voice.

"Let go!" Lelouch yelled suddenly, stepping back towards Phoenix and flinging Dr. Beradoire's hand away. What was—

Dr. Beradoire lunged forward, wrapping his hand around Lelouch's thin wrist and yanking him forward. Lelouch toppled with a yelp as the yank forced him to lose his footing and fall to one knee.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Dr. Beradoire hissed, his eyes glinting strangely. And now that Phoenix was closer, he could see how the researcher looked slightly pale, his cheeks more gaunt than before.

Lelouch's breath was rapid in fear as he struggled to break free.

"Hey!" Phoenix yelled, swiping his hand down to effectively karate-chop the two apart. He tried to keep his voice normal against the rising anxiety in his gut. "What do you think you're—"

Phoenix stopped suddenly as Dr. Beradoire slid over backwards, rolling a short distance down the hill before stopping against a clump of ferns. Phoenix felt a horrible anxiety fill his chest. Had he really just pushed a researcher down a—

"No," Lelouch hissed, grabbing Phoenix's arm before he could go down to help the fallen doctor. Phoenix felt as if he was teetering on the edge of an abyss, rather than a sloping hill. Why was Lelouch stopping him—was his master plan now to be revealed?

Had Phoenix really been such a stupid guard? Had his whole plan to learn the truth about Lelouch's history really been deeply, innately flawed?

He turned his face sharply to find Lelouch's… and found that the Britannian was staring down at the fallen researcher…. No, not quite at the doctor, but at….

Phoenix's breath caught in his throat. There were people… four long, dark shadows of people… slipping out from between the trees, filling the forest below Dr. Beradoire. Who _were_ they?

"ZERO!" came the call from Pailey, and Phoenix was filled with the unmistakable urge to flee.

_Run to Pailey,_ his mind whispered. He glanced to Lelouch, who looked paler than usual, his face drawn and almost green.

"Don't think I wouldn't notice," Dr. Beradoire coughed out, rising shakily from his clump of ferns. There was dirt smeared across his floral-print shirt. "I noticed. I'm not stupid. You can't parade around in front of me, and think I wouldn't notice."

Phoenix wanted to run, but the strange tremor in Dr. Beradoire's voice held him fast.

"Every day you've passed by, and every day I've known! Since the beginning!" He stared vehemently at Phoenix. "Did you think you could tame the monster? The Devil changes _you!"_ He shook his head and glared at the slender, pale Britannian.

"I know who you are… Lelouch vi Britannia!" With his final words, he raised a trembling finger and pointed, singling out the disguised emperor.

Out of the corner of his eye, Phoenix saw a slight shudder course through Lelouch.

"Kill the Devil!" a voice shouted, and Phoenix took a step back, bumping into Lelouch. The voice was quickly hushed, and the people in black started moving forward, coalescing together like some kind of malicious shadow surrounding Dr. Beradoire.

Pailey's voice rang out again, as if calling on the ancient savior of the free people. "ZERO!"

But what would Zero do, given this situation?

One cloaked figure suddenly flipped back a hood, revealing a blond man with a tattoo on his neck. "Zero's justice!" he screamed, shoving a knife into the air. It was the same one that had yelled before.

Phoenix drew in a shaky breath. Why was it suddenly possible for things like this to happen, for things occult and shadowy and entirely too creepy for normal life to exist in this day and age. Zero's justice? They intended to kill Lelouch? But his research….

"That man is dangerous. You can't keep him as some kind of secret pet project," Dr. Beradoire intoned, shaking his head. "I'm a historian. I'd recognize him anywhere. And if he's not dead already… it… it must be the Devil…." He slumped against a tree, putting a hand to his face.

One of the people in black stepped up next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and tossing back the hood. Long waves of chestnut hair cascaded from her head as the hood slipped to her back. "You've done the right thing, Erik**.**" She looked up towards Lelouch, and then her eyes fixed on Phoenix. "Boy, come away from there. That man is the Devil and he will use you to his own ends." She held out a hand, beckoning for Phoenix to go to her. Dr. Beradoire's face was twisted with a mixture of remorse and pity.

Phoenix felt torn—did he turn himself over to a researcher and his group of creepy, black-cloaked minions? Or did he side with Lelouch, the person who the world had hated so much, it had vowed to never make war again. Rationally, this was no choice between good and bad or right and wrong, just a choice between the lesser of two evils.

But if there _was_ a side with the most good, or if one side had even the tiniest bit of right to it….

What should he do? Phoenix had grown up with the knowledge that Lelouch had been a deranged, power-hungry tyrant, eager to start wars and kill thousands upon thousands just to hold the world in his bloodstained hands. In school, he was taught that Lelouch had been a crafty and intelligent boy, his mind tuned towards control and twisted by a thirst for revenge. But in the past ten days, Phoenix had seen a boy haunted by long memories of the dark, filled with a quiet tragedy. Or had he just been blind to the truth of the immortal, crimson-eyed youth, clothed in a mystery too deep and terrifying for even Phoenix to question?

What _was_ the reason for Lelouch's continued existence? Was it, as the hooded group suggested, a pact with the Devil? Or was there some cryogenic, scientific reason after all? Phoenix wasn't sure, and he didn't think he had the time to figure it out. Fate had given him this decision. He had to choose one.

The options were clear, but the correct choice was not. Creepy people he had just met, or an even creepier presence he had somehow become a little accustomed to? He didn't want to let Lelouch's history go, but he feared the woman was right. But he could only choose one. He could place his destiny in only one.

"Go," whispered Lelouch, softly enough for only Phoenix to hear.

In surprise, he flicked his eyes to the former emperor. If there _was_ a side with good in it… that would be who Phoenix sided with. There was something good in his pact with history, something good found right beside the truth. He would find his answers only in an unhidden face, in the clear features that were not masked by a long hood or possessed by dark shadows and sallow cheekbones. Phoenix could see right through Lelouch's single word to the self-sacrifice and desire to protect it represented.

The side that was good, that was right… that was the side Phoenix belonged to. That was the side his search for the truth about Zero belonged to. And Lelouch… he had pledged himself to Phoenix's side.

At his side, Lelouch would stay. For better or worse, Phoenix found himself putting his trust in the fallen emperor, believing in the longing for redemption he heard in Lelouch's single word.

He was confident, somehow, that his decision was exactly what Zero would do. In his veins was the blood of the hero of all heroes, and in his heart was the courage to do what was right, no matter how strong the opposition.

Phoenix would defy this Devil's command, hold him to his promise, and continue to seek the truth.

"I won't go," Phoenix announced, eyes narrowing at the woman beside Dr. Beradoire. He took a step forward, throwing his arm out in front of Lelouch. "I won't let you have him! You can't use your religious or cultist beliefs to justify a murder! It's wrong and I won't stand for it!"

He heard Lelouch gasp in his ear as Dr. Beradoire looked up suddenly, meeting Phoenix's intense gaze, and then dropped to his knees as the woman beside him stepped forward testily.

"If you want him," Phoenix said defiantly, his voice carrying easily over the shrub-covered hillside, "you'll have to go through me first."

The wide blue eyes of the woman locked onto his, her mouth open in surprise. She held her hand out towards him again, wet her pink lips with her tongue, and….

Everything suddenly moved too fast. Only his brain and thoughts could react.

"Zero's justice!" cried the man with the knife, lunging forward. The woman fell back, downed by the man's enthusiasm. Something was crashing through the bushes behind him.

_No. It's not._

"Phoenix!" Lelouch yelled, his voice high-pitched and fearful. His grip tightened on Phoenix's arm, trying to thrust him away. He heard a high-pitched scream from behind.

_This is right._

Phoenix felt his breath catch in his throat as his eyes caught on the metallic glint of the knife as the man released it, his arm outstretched in Phoenix's direction.

_This is it._

The knowledge hit him with a simplistic certainty as a cold wave spread across his brain.

_I'm going to die._

**End Chapter Four**

* * *

_Author's Notes: Sorry again for the horrendous wait! I really should never do that ever again. T_T But I hope you appreciate how wonderful this chapter is, given the wait. I will try not to leave you in suspense about Phoenix's death/injury/fate for too long.  
_

_A special thank you goes out to anja-chan, who is my fearless beta. Without her, I would feel too crappy about this to post it. Go read her stuff and give her lots of of reviews if you think I'm any good.  
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_I had a lot of difficulties getting this out, so PLEASE REVIEW! (Also, the more questions you guys ask, the more likely I'll be able to address them/write something cool in the next chapter.)  
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